CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

STAYING SHARP

7/8/2016

 
Years ago, as a young pastor, I had to come to grips with a fundamental reality:  during the month of July, attendance numbers at church will be down.  The reason?  Vacation season!  Many people will simply miss church due to taking time off to relax and refresh. Admittedly, this can be a challenging time for churches, which depend upon volunteers to carry out most every component of their overall ministry.

And yet, through the years, I have come to understand and to appreciate why people take vacations.  We all have the need, periodically, to get away.  To rest, to relax, to refresh.  Jesus Himself did so.  He often went off alone to replenish both His body and His soul.  As did others in the Bible, such as Elijah the Prophet.

To illustrate this today, I thought I would post an insightful story having to do with the importance of taking a little time off.  It’s a tale of two men…

Two men were lumberjacks, but they were not just any lumberjacks… at one point in time, these two men were seen as the best two lumberjacks on earth. They were both of equal height and equal strength. Standing at 6 foot 8 inches, and weighing in at 280 pounds of pure muscle, they towered over most everyone they came across. You can picture them right? Wearing plaid, with large jaw bones, even larger beards, and workman’s boots that added 2 more inches to their already touring statures?

Well, one day, the two lumberjacks decided that sharing the title of both being the best lumberjacks on earth wasn’t enough. They wanted to determine who was the world’s greatest lumberjack. The whole world thought it would be the lumberjack who never took a second to rest. And yet, the whole world was wrong.

So they setup a head-to-head, toe-to-toe competition. The rules were simple. Each man gets one axe, and they each have 24 hours to chop job down as much lumber as possible. At noon, on a frosty November morning, they went at it.

One of the lumberjacks, in an incredible feat of stamina, strength, and perseverance, chopped without taking even a second’s break. He never wiped the sweat off his brow and never paused for a drink of water. Amazingly, he was so strong, that he never lost velocity on a swing and he was so skilled, that he never lost precision on a chop. He cut as fast, as hard, and as precisely as humanly possible for the entire 24-hour period. Amazingly, his strength was never compromised and never dwindled.

The second lumberjack, of equal strength and stamina, chopped at the exact same velocity, precision, and force, but instead of never taking a break, he would pause for 20 minutes every 2 hours. This means that within the 24 hour period, he had 2 hours when he didn’t even swing his axe.

Now, knowing that both men were of equal strength, had the exact same axe, that both never lost strength while chopping, and that both would strike the lumber at the same frequency, it seems obvious who should have won the challenge. The whole world thought it would be the lumberjack who never took even a second to rest. And yet, the whole world was wrong. Somehow, the lumberjack who took 20 minutes every two hours to not swing his axe was the winner.

How could this be possible? When the lumberjack who had taken 2 hours of breaks was approached and asked how he could have possibly won, he responded with a modest smile and said, “Sometimes you have to pause to sharpen your axe.”

If you a currently chopping with a dull axe, then you can likely see the significance of this story.  More to the point, perhaps you can see the wisdom in taking some time off to sharpen your own axe. Wise old King Solomon did.  In Ecclesiastes 10:10 (NLT), he stated:  “Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.”

I would encourage you to follow his advice – both for your own sake and also for the sake of others.  And if you hold a position of leadership or service in the house of God, then for the sake of His kingdom as well.

Trust me, everyone involved will benefit if you and I will only take some time off and then come back swinging with a noticeably sharper edge.


Happy vacation!

STORY SOURCE:  Available widely on the internet in varying forms.  See, for instance: http://unreasonable.is/what-the-worlds-greatest-lumberjack-can-teach-you-about-balance/.
SCRIPTURE SOURCE:  http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/10-10.htm.
 

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All