Sharpen the Ax

“If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength: but wisdom [is] profitable to direct.” (Ec 10:10 AV)

What is more dangerous?  A razor-sharp ax or a dull one?  What takes more effort to fell a tree?  A sharp ax or a dull one?  The answer to both is the dull ax.  The Latter is obvious.  The former, not so much.  In both cases, the sharper the ax, the safer and more efficient the tool.  Wisdom is compared to a razor-sharp ax.  The application is obvious.  Wisdom would say to sharpen the ax before a task is started.  The fool would pick up an ax without testing it.  And a fool would continue the task without sharpening the ax once it was discovered dull.  The word ‘direct’ is a perfect word here.  The dull edge does not have a decisive direction.  It flies wherever the tree would force it.  The dull blade would be subject to the resistance of the object upon which it was forced.  A sharp edge, however, would dictate the direction against resisting forces.  The sharp edge sets the direction.  Not the resistance against it.

Having been taught many outdoorsman skills, I can attest to the truth above.  Having to fell trees for my father, a sharp ax was a must.  He taught us how to sharpen and an.  It took time.  We had no grinding stone upon which to turn the ax head.  It all had to be done be hand.  We took sticks and stabbed them into the ground at a thirty-degree angle at the base to each other.  Like an ‘A’ without the cross stroke.  Four or more sticks lined in two rows at the precise angle for the sharpest edge.  We simply lay the ax head against one side or the other we used the sticks as a guide to sharpen the ax to a fifteen-degree edge on both sides.  First, we would start with a course file.  Working our way down, we would end with a fine whetstone.  This took a bit of time.  In our immaturity, we thought we could have easily chopped a tree or two down in the time it took to sharpen an ax.  Every few trees, we would use the whetstone to hone the edge.  Keeping the ax sharp meant more time in the beginning, but less time and effort over the long term.

Have you ever heard the phrase “work smarter, not harder”?  This is the idea here.  The more wisdom we get, the easier life becomes.  It is hard work gaining that wisdom.  There are hard lessons to learn.  I have scars on my body to prove it.  There is the left hand that was crushed in a mixing bowl that has been slightly crippled since.  I have burn marks from pizza ovens.  There are scars from knives and axes to prove the proverb true.   We often complain of the hard times of life.  But some of them are our own doing.  Being foolish comes with scars.  The answer is to whet the blade.  The answer is to learn from our mistakes.  The answer is to go to the word of God, learn it, hide it in the heart, then ask the Holy Spirit to bring it all to remembrance.  A dull ax hurts a bunch.  I know.  A sharp ax will bury itself in the trunk of a tree.

Not Always Straight, But Always Right

“Consider the work of God: for who can make [that] straight, which he hath made crooked?” (Ec 7:13 AV)

When comparing the way of the LORD with the way of man, usually we think of the way of the LORD as straight and the way of man crooked.  This is not without cause.  The word perverse or perverted means to make crooked.  Yet Solomon reveals that it is appropriate to think of the work of God as crooked and that it cannot be straightened.  The discrepancy is in the first case, sin is involved.  In the latter, it is the plan of God for our lives.  Which brings us to our thought.  God’s plan for our lives is not the easiest and straightest of all paths.  There are turns.  There are twists.  We call that change.  As much as we want life to be one straight line without any twists and turns, it is not.  God has a path for us.  It transverses in a generally straight line.  His plan for us is to learn two things.  We need to learn obedience and faith.  This means some crooks in the path are necessary.  Both quick and gentle turns are required.  Sometimes solid obstructions are necessary.  We don’t learn the easy way.  Experience is a hard teacher.

Automatic vacuums and sweepers are becoming common.  My son has one.  It is common to see a small dog riding one.  The technology of these sweepers can see obstructions and change direction.  It does so rather effortlessly and without dramatic fashion.  Prior to today’s technology, it wasn’t always that way.  In earlier objects, it was a blunt force that caused the object to change direction.  Prior to proximity sensors, it was a jolt that reset the direction and speed of the object.  The interaction between the object and the solid obstruction could often be violent.  A jarring encounter would reset something inside the toy or tool, and it would reverse direction, going off in another way.  The problem was that the other way may also involve an obstruction.  If this toy or tool encountered a corner, it took some doing to get free.  Forward, back, turn ten degrees and do it again.  Several impacts later, it was finally out of trouble.  Today’s technology ‘sees’ a possible obstruction and avoids it all together.  Sometimes we are like that old technology.  We bump into the solid sovereign hand of God and have to change course.  It stings a bit.  But we are pointed to a fresh direction.

Life is full of adjustments.  Some major.  Most minor.  These adjustments are part of God’s plan to mature us into Christlikeness.  As much as we want to avoid them, as continue as we are, we would never get to where we are going without the hurdles of life.  God knows what He is doing.  He always does.  Trusting Him stinks sometimes.  It is rarely easy.  Faith is a principal thing.  Without it, we cannot please God.  Therefore, we must embrace the crooked path of life.  We must see it as God intends it.  The crooked path is all part of growing in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.  The crooked path of life makes God more real and far closer than He has ever been before.  Praise the LORD for the crooked path of life.

Wisdom as a Delight

“Then I was by him, [as] one brought up [with him]: and I was daily [his] delight, rejoicing always before him; Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights [were] with the sons of men.” (Pr 8:30-31 AV)

Proverbs chapter eight is wisdom speaking as though it were a person.  The intent, some say, is to draw a comparison of wisdom portrayed as a woman against the strange woman who represents sin.  There are several theological considerations here.  Wisdom, as brought up with the Creator, makes wisdom eternal.  Wisdom as by Him shows that wisdom is the very nature of God.  Wisdom is one of His many attributes.  Divine wisdom was also part of the creation process of almighty God.  What struck me this morning is one word.  Delight.  In particular, if wisdom is the delight of God, how much more should it be for us.

The word ‘delight’ is an interesting word.  Webster’s 1828 dictionary states, “To affect with great pleasure; to please highly; to give or afford high satisfaction or joy; as, a beautiful landscape delights the eye; harmony delights the ear; the good conduct of children, and especially their piety, delights their parents.”  This means wisdom is more than mere exercise of principles.  Wisdom is meant to be delightful.  We often look at wisdom as a duty to begrudge.  Wisdom, so we think, robs us of the pleasures of life.  Yet in another of Solomon’s works, The Book of Ecclesiastes, living for pleasure alone is a vanity.  Hedonism may be attractive and even offer short-term pleasure, but in the end, the cost is always higher than the pleasure received.  Wisdom as a delight suggests that in God’s view, acting in accordance with His holy character is a delight.  Not only is it a delight to God, but the implication is that living in wisdom is a delight to mankind.

Wisdom is often seen as a negative thing.  Or, at best, neutral.  It is seen as something to do or be simply to avoid trouble or to be more right than wrong.  Wisdom is seen as a duty, and neglecting wisdom is something to be avoided.  Mostly because of consequences, wisdom is seen as a duty to make one’s life a bit better than living as a fool.  Solomon shares that wisdom is far more than that.  Wisdom is, or should be, a delight.  It should be a pleasure.  Like my technical drawing class, scoring a perfect score was almost impossible.  The closer I got, the more pleasure it brought.  The same is true with wisdom.  The closer we get to Christlikeness, the more pleasure it should bring.

Of Righteousness and Overcoming

“Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.” (Ps 5:8 AV)

For every saint, there are three common enemies.  There is the world.  The world is all of lost humanity, the systems which they create, and the temptations they offer.  There is the flesh.  The flesh is that part of us that desires to be pleased more than to please God.  Then there is the devil.  He and his minions can make life rather difficult.  They are limited by the permissive will of God.  God allows their influence so that we might learn many lessons we would not otherwise learn.  These three are common to all saints.  But there are other enemies that could perhaps be grouped with one of these three.  This morning, my enemies are discouragement and weakness.  They could be lumped in with the flesh.  Unlike David, our enemies are not always physical.  He fought the Philistines and his other neighbors.  He fought Goliath.  He fought Absalom.  He fought armies and individuals who would compromise the peace of Israel.  We, on the other hand, wrestle with principalities and powers and rulers of darkness.  As I said, discouragement is a great enemy to face!

David’s answer is to live in righteousness.  This may sound odd.  David is a warrior.  What does righteousness have to do with wielding a sword or spear?  What does righteousness have to do with battle strategy?  Isn’t the whole point of warfare to destroy everything in your path?  The same could be said of discouragement, fear, envy, frustration, or any other unhealthy emotion.  What does righteousness have to do with our emotional state?  Everything!  Aside from the obvious, by living in the righteousness of God we live in the strength of the power of God.  We can no more live right by our own strength that we can face the giants of discouragement or anxiety.  By living in the strength of the LORD for one, we also receive the strength of the LORD for all others.  Let’s face it.  Our battles come from many different directions and often many are faced at the same time.  Discipline of the flesh to avoid sin and fighting discouragement often go hand in hand.  Discouragement has a way of evaporating hope so that we see no point in living right before God.  Therefore, being led in the way of righteousness has everything to do with receiving strength against the enemy.

If we see no point in what we are doing, then we will not care how we do it.  That is David’s point here.  All he can do is battle to the best of his ability.  He cannot control who or what is at enmity with him.  His enemies will vary.  They will come from different directions, with various numbers, and for no reason other than he and Israel exist.  He cannot control their feelings about him or his nation.  They are what they are.  What he can control is his dependence on God.  He can control his walk with God by seeking strength through righteousness.  That is our goal.  We cannot predict or battle enemies that we cannot see on the horizon.  Try as we may, we can study and pray, but the enemy will still come.  Weariness in well-doing is a real thing.  We cannot relinquish our well-doing.  We must remain steadfast in doing well.  Righteousness is the key.  By asking the for the LORD’s strength and leading into righteousness, then enemies we cannot see will diminish.  Eventually, they will be defeated.

It All Belongs to Him

“Who hath prevented me, that I should repay [him? whatsoever is] under the whole heaven is mine.” (Job 41:11 AV)

Whatsoever under the whole heaven is everything!  As my deacon replied, “This should be obvious to all.  Too bad that God had to declare it!”  Amen.  But declare it He must.  It is surprising how many created beings believe they belong to no one.  We did nothing to earn our existence.  We did nothing to affect our existence.  We are the product of two people and the hand of the Creator.  We belong to the hand that made us.  Yet, few will acknowledge the existence of a Creator nor submit to Him as such.  It matters not.  Whether we submit or don’t submit, we still belong to the Creator.  It amazes me how much this principle is lost on the rebels.

The city to which I moved a few years ago is popular among dog owners.  It is not uncommon to see a dog walker stroll by the house on average of two an hour.  A simple drive from one place to another will also witness several dozen dog walkers.  Pooches are everywhere!  It is interesting that every dog walker also sees himself or herself as a dog owner.  The dog, no matter how much it is loved, belongs to the master.  It doesn’t matter how cute or ugly, big or small, obedient or wild.  That dog belongs to a person, and that person understands the role of owner.  It is his or her responsibility to care for that dog.  It is to be fed.  It is to be maintained in good health.  It is to be housebroken.  It is to be trained.  This is proper and right for the dog’s sake.  A dog not well cared for and trained is a dog that is uneasy.  The owner is one because the dog is purchased, licensed, and sheltered.  The owner did not create the dog.  He assumed a relationship of authority and submission.  As long as the balance exists between owner and pet, the relationship continues.  But at no time can the dog decide that he is not owned.

We are not dogs by any stretch of the imagination.  We are not property of another.  Rather, we have a much higher status than that of a purchased pet.  We belong to God because He made us.  His relationship to us is that of Creator/creation.  Because man is made in the image of God, we are the extension of His person.  Unlike a dog who may resemble his master but with no point of origin, we are much more to the LORD.  We are the expression of His love and desire to know those who wish to trust Him and worship Him.  We belong to Him.  Not because He bought us from a breeder or other individual.  Rather, we are His because He invested His heart in something He could love while desiring love in return.  We are not our own.  We were bought with the price of the blood of Jesus to reconcile us to our Creator.  If we will not have a relationship with Him, then we cease to pursue the purpose for our existence.  There is no more need of this relationship.  We are His!  The quicker we can accept and internalize this truth, the quicker we can enjoy the life He wishes to grant.

Limited Understanding

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.” (Job 38:4 AV)

God’s question to Job goes to the root of man’s quest to fully understand God.  He cannot.  The word ‘understanding’ is important here.  The bible use of the word means to comprehend and combine facts so that one understands the implication or application of the facts one knows.  In short, the LORD is asking Job; and by extension mankind; can we really understand every detail of God’s hand in creation?  Modern man would posit that indeed, mankind is smart enough to understand all the complexities of the natural universe.  The theorems of our brightest sound rather profound and possible.  Yet, now one was present when God created so to say that mankind can know is the height of arrogance.  We can only know that which we can interact with.  We know much biology as manifested by medicine.  But how much to we really know?  If we knew all that was to know, immortality would be the result.  Yet death still reigns.

I am not a patient word-puzzle person.  If the puzzle is not relatively easy, I have no interest.  There is a word-puzzle app on my phone.  There are nine varieties of word puzzles included each day.  Word search is no problem.  The Wordle style puzzle is simple enough.  There are three or four puzzles where knowledge of pop culture like movies or music, is a constant theme.  There is another puzzle that changes the current word to a new one by changing one letter.  The puzzle gives you a crossword style clue.  Whoever writes these puzzles is not from my home country, so many of the clues are useless.  The crossword puzzles seem to be somewhat like this as well.  Google searches become my friend.  I have learned much playing these word puzzles because I have to search to find an answer.  Working these puzzles is quickly becoming a chore rather than a pleasure.  I will cease to occupy myself with things I cannot understand when it becomes more work than joy.

Mankind is miserable because they will not let God be God.  This was Job’s struggle.  He needed an answer to ‘why’.  He wanted to understand the complexities of God before he was willing to be content in his limited ability to understand God.  This is the LORD’s doing.  The answer to Job’s situation was simple and understandable.  But many things are not.  The complexity of what God does, or why and how He does it, are not able to be known by finite man.  God’s point to Job was that Job needed to learn submission, contentment, and even joy in the reality of ignorance.  After all, if the answer to his question did come, would it really change anything?  Getting the answer would not bring his children back.  Getting the answer would not produce instant wealth.  Getting the answer would not miraculously heal his body.  The answer to ‘why’ is a separate consideration.  It is not the cure.  Man is foolish if he thinks he can understand all there is not know of the hand of God.  Absolute arrogance!  Faith is the answer.  Taking God at His word and trusting Him, even though we have scant ability to understand, is the only answer to a troubled heart.

The Blessedness of Faith

“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish [from] the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all they that put their trust in him.” (Ps 2:12 AV)

The application here is very clear.  With the phrase “…perish from the way…” and the word ‘…wrath…’, the student of the scriptures can clearly discern that the context and application is the eternal wrath of God as the lost soul suffers in a devil’s hell.  Therefore, if accepting Christ as Savior is the choice of the lost soul, then he or she will be truly blessed!  This is obvious.  Another consideration is that there are only two choices here.  Either the soul will trust the LORD and be blessed in that trust, or reject the God of mercy and grace, suffering eternal separation because of it.  Again, this is obvious.  There is no middle ground.  There is no position of neutrality.  This thought was turning in my head when the Spirit spoke ever so gently to consider the principle here beyond the application of salvation.  One must wonder if God is displeased when we reject His person or ability because we are too afraid or self-sufficient to trust.  We know the author of Hebrews tells us that we cannot please God without faith.  Again, one has to wonder if a lack of faith would result in some sort of divine response.  But that is not where the Spirit would have me go this morning.  Rather, one word jumps out to me.  That word is ‘blessed’.

How many of us have had our children reject what we knew they would like simply because it was new or felt they could not trust us?  We have all been there.  It might have been the first time they were dropped off at the church nursery.  Perhaps it was the first day of kindergarten.  Maybe it was a ride at an amusement park or the first cast from a fishing pole.  We went camping a lot.  My father took us on many adventures.  Most of the time we reluctantly went because we knew there were risks and discomforts involved.  Once there and actively participating, the experience was enjoyable.  Most of the time, reluctance comes at the offering of a new recipe.  My children used to laugh about it.  My wife loves to try new recipes.  Most of the time they were not worthy of a second try.  So, my sons used to joke about mom’s new recipes all the time.  Guess what happens when you marry.  Suddenly there are certain things mom made that you miss.  Not that your wife is a poor cook.  It is the memories around the recipe that you miss.  Getting children to try new foods no matter how much you know they will enjoy it is a challenge.  They simply cannot see the reward.  All they see is the risk.

The same is true with us.  We are asked to trust the LORD in all sorts of ways over an entire lifetime.  Some are easy.  Some have no other option.  Most, however, have an escape hatch.  This hatch is not provided by God.  It simply exists.  It exists as part of our ability to choose.  The challenge is in believing in the eventual blessing.  David’s statement above isn’t a hypothetical hope.  Trust God, and you might receive a blessing.  No.  David’s statement is one of fact.  Those who let go and let God tend to be more blessed and content; maybe even happy; than those who will not trust God.  It is one thing to trust the LORD with our souls.  What other choice do we have?  Any rational being would take God up on the offer of salvation through Christ.  It is after our new birth that faith becomes rather difficult.  Believing the absolute promise of blessedness if we trust is what gets us over the fence.