Joel Osteen Daily Devotional July 21 2022 : Sharper or Duller

Proverbs 27:17, NLT

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Your friends should be sharpening you, making you better. Is that true of your circle of friends? Whatever qualities your friends have–either good or bad–eventually will either dull you or sharpen you. If you hang out with people who gossip, who compromise, or who are stingy, that’s what you’ll become. But if you hang around excellent people, generous people, and motivated, successful people, those good qualities will sharpen your life. This is why it’s so important that you are selective with whom you spend your time.

Don’t worry about being in the right group, having the most friends, being the most popular. The quantity of friends is not important; it’s the quality of your friends that really matters. You need eagles in your life–people who inspire you to reach your dreams, people who motivate you to go further, people who make you better. The truth is that you cannot reach your highest potential on your own. You need the right people to help you get to where you’re supposed to be.

Father, thank You for the friends in my life who sharpen me, inspire me, encourage me, and make me better. Help me to know if there are relationships that are having a negative impact on me and dulling me. I want to walk with the right people. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.