SHARPENING YOUR AXE
Ecclesiastes 10:8-11:6
Pastor David Fairchild
March 13th, 2005
INTRODUCTION
Though our classifications of people are varied and many, we have seen that Solomon in his wisdom divides humanity into two camps- the wise and the fool.
Wise people have consistency in their life because they live and move to the rhythm of God as they continually remind themselves of God’s thoughts and ways. Since they are in concert with God by considering who He is, what He says, and how they should live in accord to His revealed will, they find themselves thinking God’s thoughts after Him and living as they were created to live, for His glory by delighting in Him above all else.
Acting on this wisdom we see that the whole of our activities under the sun is given meaning so that our work, sleep, meals, tears, laughter, relationships, and even our purchase of things are now viewed from the perspective of being a redeemed people, with redeemed lives going hard after God and His glory which results in our joy in all of life.
As Solomon continues his contrast of those who are wise and those who are fools, he teaches us principles which assist us in acting on wisdom. These principles when wrapped in the ministry of the Holy Spirit results in Godly wisdom which governs our lives.
Solomon graciously demonstrates that failure to pursue wisdom results in a foolish life of profitless, meaningless work which lacks reward and purpose. He likens this foolish living to a logger trying to chop down trees with a dull axe (10:10).
Fools swing harder with their dull axe, while the wise person takes time to sharpen theirs. In this passage, Solomon attempts to sharpen our axe.
Last week we were taught by Solomon how to spot a fool and how not to be one. This week he is going to teach us ways in which we can be wise.
What you will notice in this passage if you are a student of the Bible is a consistent theme which is not limited to Ecclesiastes but is weaved through the totality of Scripture- which is the wealth of principles given to us with very few methods.
You have heard me say on numerous occasions that within Christianity the two errors that are most common are an overemphasis on all things being doctrinal principles, which is usually the case for moralist teachers which place everything in the principle column and are willing to divide and fight over the most trivial of issues. In the other team is an overemphasis of all things as nothing more than methods. This is usually the liberalists that will place essentials of our faith in the methods column and refuse to take a stand on anything- except that everything should be in the method column.
If you are going to be a healthy Christian you need to know the difference between the two and live an ambidextrous, two-handed life. Knowing the difference between the two and living as someone who can discern what to fight for and what to give grace on is something we all need to strive for.
In the Bible, when we come across wisdom principles that are not simply specific to the time of the writer, we should take notice and try to discover what it is that God is teaching us about people through history and how that historical principle is applied to you and I today. With these wisdom principles we should remain consistent, yet with how those principles are lived out as methods, we should be careful not to prescribe the same methods to each and every person, since each person has a unique set of challenges in a unique setting. It is possible for us to live in agreement to the principles without agreeing on how the methods should be applied to each case.
For example: we can agree that it is important that we pray, but for how long and over what we pray for at any given moment is different for each person. We can agree that we should worship God through songs of praise, but what songs we sing and what kind of instruments we use will vary from church to church. We can agree that we need to read our Bible, but how much and when is different for each person. The Bible is somewhat ambiguous on the methods but is emphatic that on the principles. We don’t argue over whether or not we should pray, worship, or read Scripture. What we usually argue over is which method to use, which is why Christian bookstores are full of sure fire methods to get you to do or attain something. It’s really kind of silly.
As we come to the Scriptures this morning, you’re not going to hear how to discipline a child, how to love a spouse, how to create a financial plan, or how to work out. It will give you principles to live by, and then as you are saturated with Godly, biblical principles, you are assisted by the Holy Spirit on how to best apply those principles to your life. This is why we are given the “Spirit of wisdom” (Acts 6:3), so that we can live wisely.
My job this morning is to give you principles to live by and trust that if you are a follower of Jesus, the Spirit of wisdom will teach you how to apply wisdom principles in your life.
Here are Solomon’s principles for making the most of our days with the greatest of efficacy.
STUDY
Before we get into the text in chapter 10, turn with me to chapter 9 in verse 9 for the first principle to think about.
Principle # 1- Figure Out Your Portion
Verse 9:9b- 9b…for this is your reward (Hebrew cheleq - word for portion or lot) in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun.
Before you can put together a plan which is specific to your life as you hear these wisdom principles, you need to understand what your portion or lot in life is.
Many of you here this morning have either a very low view of yourself and you underestimate your portion in life, or you have a very high view of yourself and you overestimate your lot, and because of an inaccurate assessment of yourself you live a very frustrated life.
Some of you want to hurry up and get to the principles so that you can work them into methods in your life without ever asking if you have the capacity to know the difference.
Others don’t want to hear anything from anybody because you don’t think they’ll apply to you, or that the principles are sound or feasible to live out.
Paul says in Romans 12:3 “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
Don’t overshoot and think too highly and don’t undershoot and think too lowly what you are capable of. We need to first determine what lot we have been given by God so that we can work with that lot in wisdom.
If you can’t keep a beat you’ll probably never become a drummer. If don’t like math, you’re probably never going to be an accountant. If you’re as tall as I am with a 2 inch vertical leap, chances are you’re probably not going to play professional hoops. If you’re not attractive, you’re probably not going to be a supermodel.
We can scream all day that it’s discrimination to say such things. Yes it is. It’s good discrimination. That’s why we don’t give someone a scalpel that has a nervous tick and ask them to perform brain surgery. That’s why we don’t give a drivers license to someone who is blind. That’s why we don’t ask someone who is a Rasta-Farian to work for the DEA. Some discrimination is good discrimination.
There is a lot in life that God has given you and some of you are good at one thing, but not at another. It’s ok, just decide what those things are that God has given to you and be honest about the ones that He has not, so that you work on being effective with the portion He has given.
Assessment is so important because we are not very honest with ourselves. Many of us, because of a lack of wisdom, really do not self-assess very well. This is why there are tryouts for professional teams. This is why there are placement tests before you enter into med school. This is why we have drivers’ tests before we send a 16 year old with rosary beads and a bobble-head Jesus on their dash into rush hour traffic with a stick shift on I-5.
So, by honest assessment from Scripture and through Godly and wise friends, assess what portion God has given you and embrace whatever that lot is as a good gift of God.
Once you have determined what God has given you to do and you begin walking in the right direction, be careful because life is full of potential disasters if we don’t keep our eyes open and watch our steps along the way.
Principle #2- Watch Your Steps
Ecclesiastes 10:8-20
Verses 8-9- 8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and a serpent may bite him who breaks through a wall. 9 He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.
You could be the guy that figures out that you have a knack for Koi ponds and so you dig a huge hole, fill it with water and Koi, trip over the hose, smack your head on a rock and become Koi food.
You could be the guy that decides he’s going to start work on that project of expanding his house as he promised his wife 5 years ago, and since he has the know-how, and doesn’t want to be idle with the gifts God has given him he busts through the back wall, reaches down to grab some rubble and gets bit by a rattle snake and dies.
You could be that guy that decides he’s going to finish that retaining wall in his front yard. He gets up early, rushes out to start work and as he lifts the first cinder block, he pulls a muscle and drops the rock on his head, tumbles down his driveway into traffic.
Or, you could be the guy that decides he’s going to stop paying someone to cut, split, and stack his wood for winter. So he gets up early to start stacking, and as he begins to split the wood half of the log pops off his axe and he takes one to the jaw and falls on the axe and dies. It could happen!
With that in mind, you need to be careful. Wise people know that simply being eager Johnny who is in a rush to get stuff done without caution usually results in either sloppy stuff or an injured Johnny.
So don’t just be eager to get stuff done, but rather plan what you’re going to do so that you can maximize your work and demonstrate the advantage of wisdom. Fools rush in, wise people plan first then get to work. What’s the rule in carpentry? Measure twice, cut once!
Once you have figured out the portion God has given you, you need to be careful not to rush out and hurt yourself in relationships, finances, labor, school, ministry, etc. In order to be careful and watch your steps, you need to wisely plan for success in whatever you do.
Principle #3- Plan Wisely
Verse 10- If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of giving success.
There is nothing more foolish than for a big dumb lumberjack to go out in the woods and start chopping down a tree with a dull axe. You can picture him swinging away in frustration as he gets nowhere with all his might and his dull butter knife.
The sad truth is that most of us applaud him because he’s breaking a sweat and working really hard. We ask questions like “did you work hard today?” and what do you think he’s going to say? Yes I did, I worked my hands until they were bloody raw. So we give him a trophy for being the hardest working lumberjack in the woods. He gets up at dawn and works till dusk. But guess what? He’s not chopping down any trees! All that he is doing is working hard, but he’s not working very smart.
We certainly wouldn’t say this to a 10 million dollar a year baseball player if he didn’t get a hit all season but swung really hard! He’s getting paid to hit the ball, to make contact, to advance the team, not to break a sweat swinging at the air.
Many of us live our lives like the lumberjack. Our axe is dull and instead of sharpening it we just keep exerting more energy and time. Some of you throw yourselves into attaining a goal but you haven’t planned how to get there.
“I’ll go get a wife and figure it out as I go.” “I’ll go get a job and figure out as I go.” “I’ll have some kids and figure out as I go.” “I’ll go buy that house and figure it out as I go.” “I’m going to start a ministry and figure it out as I go.” We’re in such a rush to get things done so that we can say we reached our goals that we jump in head first without checking to see how deep the water is and end up having to wear a helmet the rest of our lives.
If you are going to get a wife, get a job, have some kids, buy a house, start a ministry, you’re going to need to put together at least a skeleton of a plan to do so.
If you’re going to get married, do you jump in without a plan or without an idea of what that marriage should look like? No! You should already have settled in your mind what a wise and Godly marriage looks like by reading the Bible, asking those that are already married and love the Lord, and then after you wisely think through what kind of spouse you are going to be and what kind of spouse most honors God, you now have something to go on as you execute that wisdom and become engaged and then married. If you meet a person that is not even close to the principles necessary to have a Godly marriage, you don’t simply jump in and say “I’ll figure it out as we go.”
If you’re going to get a job, and you have no clue what your skills are to get employment, or you have no idea what kind of company you are interested in working for so that you can gain more experience to use later in your career, or you don’t have any transportation to get you to a job, or the only place interested in hiring you is a non-profit organization which wants you to volunteer for free, you don’t simply take the job and say “I’ll figure it out as I go.” You have to know how much you need to make, what jobs will help you pay your bills or give you experience, what job you can get to on time, etc.