November 29, 2008 7:30 AM
Sam wrote:
I love verse 10. "If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success." And with that, today's thoughts:
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
Abe Lincoln was supposedly quoted as saying this. As a young man, and as a matter of a fact, most of his life, Abe used an axe in his trade--splitting rails; so, he had experience beyond this saying. This quote, this advice, is so simple, efficient and wise to apply it to any project we undertake. After all, how many times do we bring the wrong tool to the job, only to waste countless hours or days trying to avoid the certain purchase of the right tool? (Except Tony, who will use the job as an excuse to buy a new tool. ~smile~) For example, I might need a Torx 6 screwdriver, but won’t have one handy. Instead, I grab a small flathead screwdriver and try to remove the screw with it by wedging it in at an angle and forcing it. Naturally, this usually strips the head of the screw and damages the edge of the screwdriver. When an axe is dull, the job is long and tiring. It is even more dangerous because a dull axe has a tendency to bounce, resulting in a wild chop that can fling it into your leg (much like a chainsaw, Tony!). However, when it is sharp, the job can take as little as a few minutes and it’s actually more fun.
I think you know where I am going here. My first 'point' here (to use the common practice in the ICOC of a 3-point lesson, is "Sharpen your axe to make your project easier."
If you are like me, what can happen is I’ll sit down, start the writing down the bills and "oops! I forgot one, I need to get up and go get it." I go into the other room, grab the bill and sit back down. After I’m there for awhile, I remember "Hey, I need my car registration, oil change receipts, and car mileage so I can record what I pay for that every year." So, up I go again, this time so I can go out to the car and rifle through the glove compartment. As you might guess, I would be lucky not to find something to distract me from my task. To sharpen the ax in this example, it would be far better to start out by thinking. Grab a sheet of paper and make a list of all the items we need to start and everything we need to see our goal through to completion. For me, my list might look something like this: 1.Spend 10-15 minutes collecting every last bill and receipt I need to record. 2.While I’m up, grab a notepad, pen and calculator (or open up my computer) 3.Gather all of our credit cards, banking passwords and account numbers. 4.Think through whether I need Quicken, or if I can use Excel to do my budgeting. 5.If I need Quicken, go up to Wal-Mart and buy it, bring it home and load it.
6.Clear everything off my desk except for my computer, notepad, stack of bills and invoices. 7.Might I need a drink of water? Go get a glass. 8.Will I want some music playing in the background? If so, turn it on. 9.Make sure Socorro does not bother me while I try to get this done 10.Do my task of paying my bills. OKAY, OKAY, so I might exaggerate a little here, but I think you get the point....Starting with everything I need is so much more efficient, because the excuse to get up and become distracted becomes more difficult. In fact, it becomes easier to work on the project than it is to have to get up repeatedly and get a missing piece of the puzzle. When we have everything we need within arms reach, we finish faster. Progress will be steady and we will succeed more often. Do you take this approach to your Bible Studies? Do you find a quiet place, get your different Bible Versions available? Pull out the Bible Dictionary? Open a web-browser to search for other people's ideas on the Scriptures you're going to read? Those are just a few ways to sharpen your axe in preparation for a task....get everything you need in one location. Point # 2: Sharpening your mind.
Another side to sharpening the ax is educating yourself. In your jobs, you most undoubtedly use manuals, your past experience, or other people to help make you smarter at doing something. For me, when I develop computer programs for work or even for fun, I use several manuals, the internet, and other people I work with for advice on how to do something. I am almost 100 % self-trained in Visual Basic, FoxPro, Excel, Access, and several other tools I use. 15+ years ago, when I started doing this stuff, I didn't possess the skills I now do...it took time, but I used those resources to sharpen my axe, my skills, my mind. The same goes for my little bit of knowledge of the Bible. Before 1996, I couldn't have told you very much about Joseph, Paul, David or Jesus. But, after 12 + years of sharpening my mind on the Bible stories, the lessons at church, the Bible Study meetings, the research and the prayers, I have gained a bit more knowledge of salvation, loving, patience and a whole slew of things I believe, sharpened my mind, and helped , as Jack Nicholson said in 'As Good As It Gets', "...make me a better man."
On to the last point. Pitfalls to Ax Sharpening and How to Do It Anyway.
Why do we avoid sharpening the ax? This usually is because we want to begin our projects right away. We want to get moving so we can complete the tasks as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, like the examples above reveal, going to work with a dull ax usually takes longer and makes the task less enjoyable. We can motivate ourselves to sharpen the axe by remembering that we face several risks for not sharpening: •We risk extending the time it takes to complete our goals.
November 29, 2008 8:03 AM
Sam wrote:
•We risk frustrating ourselves by having to stop several times midway through and having to sharpen. •We risk damaging the work and tools we already have. •We risk decreased enjoyment of working through the project. We want to enjoy what we’re doing don’t we? Like everyone, I have to struggle with the fact ax sharpening isn’t as fun as whacking away at the tree. Collecting the sharpening stone or going to the bench grinder and sharepening the ax takes time. Running a wetstone over hard steel gets boring after just a few minutes. But as good ol' Abe said, the simple axe sharpening can decrease tree cutting time by hours. Are you motivated to sharpen your spiritual axe? Do you believe what Solomon said is true:---...skill will bring success? What are our spiritual pitfalls of using a dull axe in our evangelism? We'll 'lose' arguments, hence souls, if we are not prepared for sound reasoning which we could have gained by deep Bible Studies and prayer. We COULD even lose our salvation if we let our spiritual axe get dull, like the church at Laodicea had done....to the point where we are spit from Jesus' mouth.
The challenge then, is to sharpen your axe, and keep it sharp every day. Even after a little sin, a little use of the axe, you, and it, can become dull. Best to sharpen it every day, first thing in the morning, prepared for whatever big "oak tree" comes your way. Build up your spiritual strength by deep Bible Studies. Sharpen your life by praying about the good, the bad and the ugly. Keep your axe sharp. Reply to this
November 29, 2008 11:27 AM
Johnbob wrote:
Very good explanation of axe sharpening. Highly applicable to my life. I tend to be very unorganized, and this should be a focus area.
November 29, 2008 3:31 PM
Sam wrote:
Yeah. Me too. Unfortunately, I have been following off a lot lately...my studies have not been as deep and long as they used to be. That's why today, I thought I would try to sharpen myself a little bit more and spend a longer time in the Word of God and try to get something more out of it.
Hope you had a great T-Giving Dinner. My wife I simply had Jenny Craig turkey meals---our family was unavailable to get together this year. Reply to this
I love verse 10. "If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success."
And with that, today's thoughts:
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe."
Abe Lincoln was supposedly quoted as saying this. As a young man, and as a matter of a fact, most of his life, Abe used an axe in his trade--splitting rails; so, he had experience beyond this saying. This quote, this advice, is so simple, efficient and wise to apply it to any project we undertake. After all, how many times do we bring the wrong tool to the job, only to waste countless hours or days trying to avoid the certain purchase of the right tool? (Except Tony, who will use the job as an excuse to buy a new tool. ~smile~) For example, I might need a Torx 6 screwdriver, but won’t have one handy. Instead, I grab a small flathead screwdriver and try to remove the screw with it by wedging it in at an angle and forcing it. Naturally, this usually strips the head of the screw and damages the edge of the screwdriver.
When an axe is dull, the job is long and tiring. It is even more dangerous because a dull axe has a tendency to bounce, resulting in a wild chop that can fling it into your leg (much like a chainsaw, Tony!). However, when it is sharp, the job can take as little as a few minutes and it’s actually more fun.
I think you know where I am going here. My first 'point' here (to use the common practice in the ICOC of a 3-point lesson, is "Sharpen your axe to make your project easier."
If you are like me, what can happen is I’ll sit down, start the writing down the bills and "oops! I forgot one, I need to get up and go get it." I go into the other room, grab the bill and sit back down. After I’m there for awhile, I remember "Hey, I need my car registration, oil change receipts, and car mileage so I can record what I pay for that every year." So, up I go again, this time so I can go out to the car and rifle through the glove compartment. As you might guess, I would be lucky not to find something to distract me from my task.
To sharpen the ax in this example, it would be far better to start out by thinking. Grab a sheet of paper and make a list of all the items we need to start and everything we need to see our goal through to completion. For me, my list might look something like this:
1.Spend 10-15 minutes collecting every last bill and receipt I need to record.
2.While I’m up, grab a notepad, pen and calculator (or open up my computer)
3.Gather all of our credit cards, banking passwords and account numbers.
4.Think through whether I need Quicken, or if I can use Excel to do my budgeting.
5.If I need Quicken, go up to Wal-Mart and buy it, bring it home and load it.
TO BE CONTINUED BELOW.....
Reply to this
CONTINUED FROM ABOVE
6.Clear everything off my desk except for my computer, notepad, stack of bills and invoices.
7.Might I need a drink of water? Go get a glass.
8.Will I want some music playing in the background? If so, turn it on.
9.Make sure Socorro does not bother me while I try to get this done
10.Do my task of paying my bills.
OKAY, OKAY, so I might exaggerate a little here, but I think you get the point....Starting with everything I need is so much more efficient, because the excuse to get up and become distracted becomes more difficult. In fact, it becomes easier to work on the project than it is to have to get up repeatedly and get a missing piece of the puzzle. When we have everything we need within arms reach, we finish faster. Progress will be steady and we will succeed more often. Do you take this approach to your Bible Studies? Do you find a quiet place, get your different Bible Versions available? Pull out the Bible Dictionary? Open a web-browser to search for other people's ideas on the Scriptures you're going to read? Those are just a few ways to sharpen your axe in preparation for a task....get everything you need in one location.
Point # 2: Sharpening your mind.
Another side to sharpening the ax is educating yourself. In your jobs, you most undoubtedly use manuals, your past experience, or other people to help make you smarter at doing something. For me, when I develop computer programs for work or even for fun, I use several manuals, the internet, and other people I work with for advice on how to do something. I am almost 100 % self-trained in Visual Basic, FoxPro, Excel, Access, and several other tools I use. 15+ years ago, when I started doing this stuff, I didn't possess the skills I now do...it took time, but I used those resources to sharpen my axe, my skills, my mind. The same goes for my little bit of knowledge of the Bible. Before 1996, I couldn't have told you very much about Joseph, Paul, David or Jesus. But, after 12 + years of sharpening my mind on the Bible stories, the lessons at church, the Bible Study meetings, the research and the prayers, I have gained a bit more knowledge of salvation, loving, patience and a whole slew of things I believe, sharpened my mind, and helped , as Jack Nicholson said in 'As Good As It Gets', "...make me a better man."
On to the last point.
Pitfalls to Ax Sharpening and How to Do It Anyway.
Why do we avoid sharpening the ax? This usually is because we want to begin our projects right away. We want to get moving so we can complete the tasks as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, like the examples above reveal, going to work with a dull ax usually takes longer and makes the task less enjoyable.
We can motivate ourselves to sharpen the axe by remembering that we face several risks for not sharpening:
•We risk extending the time it takes to complete our goals.
TO BE CONTINUED ONE MORE TIME....
Reply to this
•We risk frustrating ourselves by having to stop several times midway through and having to sharpen.
•We risk damaging the work and tools we already have.
•We risk decreased enjoyment of working through the project.
We want to enjoy what we’re doing don’t we?
Like everyone, I have to struggle with the fact ax sharpening isn’t as fun as whacking away at the tree. Collecting the sharpening stone or going to the bench grinder and sharepening the ax takes time. Running a wetstone over hard steel gets boring after just a few minutes. But as good ol' Abe said, the simple axe sharpening can decrease tree cutting time by hours.
Are you motivated to sharpen your spiritual axe? Do you believe what Solomon said is true:---...skill will bring success? What are our spiritual pitfalls of using a dull axe in our evangelism? We'll 'lose' arguments, hence souls, if we are not prepared for sound reasoning which we could have gained by deep Bible Studies and prayer. We COULD even lose our salvation if we let our spiritual axe get dull, like the church at Laodicea had done....to the point where we are spit from Jesus' mouth.
The challenge then, is to sharpen your axe, and keep it sharp every day. Even after a little sin, a little use of the axe, you, and it, can become dull. Best to sharpen it every day, first thing in the morning, prepared for whatever big "oak tree" comes your way.
Build up your spiritual strength by deep Bible Studies. Sharpen your life by praying about the good, the bad and the ugly. Keep your axe sharp.
Reply to this
Very good explanation of axe sharpening. Highly applicable to my life. I tend to be very unorganized, and this should be a focus area.
JR
Reply to this
Yeah. Me too. Unfortunately, I have been following off a lot lately...my studies have not been as deep and long as they used to be. That's why today, I thought I would try to sharpen myself a little bit more and spend a longer time in the Word of God and try to get something more out of it.
Hope you had a great T-Giving Dinner. My wife I simply had Jenny Craig turkey meals---our family was unavailable to get together this year.
Reply to this