Whet Behind The Ears

By Michael Pemberton

 "He that cleaveth wood shall be endangered thereby.  If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength."  -Ecclesiastes 10:9,10

 It's mid January in Texas and I'm digging ditches for a utility company.  The wind bites viscously through my coat and jeans as I lift a heavy shovel full of wet dirt.  My ears and face burn from the exposure. It's been raining for two straight days.  Ordinarily I'd be complaining about this.  But not today.

 Today something is looming so large in my mind that I can't think of anything else.  That's what I like about this job.  I can think all day long because the job doesn't require any thought at all.  This time though, I'm scared.  My mind keeps going back to my newborn firstborn.  This job just isn't going to cut it. I figure in my mind that I'd have to work nearly 40 hrs of overtime each week if I'm going get where I need to be for the baby.  Then I'd never see the baby, so what's the use?  I only have one choice and that choice is what scares me: College.  First there are the expenses.  Then there's the fact that I never was a very good student.  Then there's the unknown.  I hate having to make decisions like this.

 As I look back on that day, I realize that there was no way I could know how great that decision was going to turn out.  I loved college.  I loved it so much that I went on to University.  Now I work a dream job in a field where I think all day and hardly do anything physical.  And I probably earn more in a week than I could in a month of ditch digging.

 Life is a risk and you must take risks to live.  It can be a lot harder if you don't take risks.  There's a lot of danger in an axe - especially a sharp one.  However, if you were chopping wood, you would choose a sharp axe over practically any other tool.  Now, we don't normally go swinging around a 2-lb. chunk of razor sharp steel, because it's not safe.  And we don't normally go making life-changing decisions either.  But sometimes we swing steel and sometimes we change our life because that's the only way to get what we want.  What do you want?  What would you have to risk to get it?

 Here's the kicker.  A blunt axe is hard work.  So is digging ditches.  There's a temptation to keep the axe dull so that, in case you miss, it just breaks your foot instead of cutting it off.  But you'll work yourself to death that way.  Why don't you sharpen yourself?  You'll find that the added risk is worth the benefit.

 One last observation: I have noticed that God is not content to have his servants looking stupid to the world.  And a woodcutter with a dull axe doesn't look too smart.  He has certain expectations about things like studying to show that you're approved and defending the faith, shutting the mouths of the gainsayers, being ready to speak for him and being ready to give reasons for our hope.  To that end, he will constantly push you to whet your edge.  If you get to feeling that your Christian life is really hard work, perhaps you might try sharpening your edge in the Word of God for a while.  It can really help you cut through some of the difficult things.