need to stay sharp

If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,

he must use more strength,

but wisdom helps one to succeed.

Ecclesiastes 10:10

Splitting wood can be a tedious task. It is repetitive. It is a physical workout. It requires some skill with an axe. And it goes well when it is done with a SHARP axe. Blunt tools require more muscle and make the work much harder than it needs to be. Sharp tools help us succeed.

The metaphor in this verse is that wisdom is what sharpens the axe. Wisdom lightens the work load. Wisdom will require some time and effort to hone our thinking to God’s sharp edge (sharpening the axes takes time away from the wood pile at first), but in the end it makes us better and our lives so much easier. And the wisdom being commended to us is the wisdom of God’s Word. Taking the truth of Ecclesiastes to heart can seriously improve our day to day toil.

An axe gets dull both from use and disuse, and hence must always be regularly sharpened. Repeated work from a reliable tool requires regular sharpening. So it is with my life. Just because I have experience doesn’t mean I don’t need wisdom from His Word. I can’t kid myself into thinking a busy ministry agenda means I am sharp already. It actually dulls me. It means that I need God’s wisdom all the more, least I experience the hardness of swinging a dull axe because I foolishly think I am smarter than the edge of the blade. God’s Word still must sharpen my thinking!

And disuse also dulls tools. Sitting on a shelf, they rust. And that means that if I only casually commit to wisdom, for show, for occasional sermons, or just in my emergencies, I’m definitely going to be working in frustration with a dull blade. Wisdom is best committed to daily. A few passes over the whetstone daily will keep the edge well honed. And so the constant, daily sharpening that comes from scripture, prayer, and meditating on the truth of the Bible can keep me sharp, make ministry more naturally flow in my life, and make short work of tasks that need a craftsman’s commitment to use familiar, well-worn, and well-honed tools.