Dross Removal

For Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Proverbs 25:4-5

Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;
take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.

The metaphor is apt in two ways. First, the matter of the dross being gone. Without the dross, the smith has pure silver and with that material, something beautiful can be crafted. So, for the king. With the wicked away from him - that is, wicked counselors and others near the throne trying to influence him - he is able to craft policies that produce something of value. Leaders have often found this the case. When advisors who are looking out for their own welfare are gone, wise decisions become easy to make. And when the employee or student who is poisoning the atmosphere leaves, then the workplace or class environment becomes productive and good-spirited.

But the metaphor leads us also to consider how the dross is removed. It is through a "fiery" process. The smith cannot take a cloth and rub it away. He has to expose the dross and the silver to the fire. So it is with the selfish advisor and the poor worker or student. The process of removing such a person requires wisdom and steadfastness to see the process of removal through, and usually it does not happen without pain. What keeps the leader steadfast is his eye on the goal, just as Jesus was able to endure his suffering because his eye on the "joy that was before him" (cf Hebrews 12:2).

But another understanding of this proverb comes from 1 Peter 1:6-7, which speaks of our faith being tested by fire. Sometimes the wicked dross that needs removal is the dross of our own hearts. We think work is such a terrible place or school an awful place. We complain about eveyone else about us, not realizing that the real problem is within our own hearts. It is when that dross is removed that we will truly be established in righteousness.