I want to share the following story with you. I received it from the School of Service and Leadership Newsletter (Indiana Wesleyan University).
As the old tale goes, there was once a woodcutter who asked
for a job from a timber merchant. Gratefully, he was hired. On his first day,
the woodcutter worked hard and cut down 18 trees. The timber merchant was impressed
with the woodcutter and encouraged him to do better the next day. The
woodcutter worked harder than he had the previous day, but only cut down 12
trees. The third day, the woodcutter worked even harder, but only managed to
cut down 8 trees. The timber merchant was disappointed with the woodcutter and
threatened to fire him if he did not produce better results. By the end of the
week, the woodcutter had worked harder than ever, but never managed to cut down
more than 5 trees. The timber merchant had to let the woodcutter go. As the
woodcutter was leaving, the timber merchant noticed his axe. Upon further
examination, the timber merchant asked, “When was the last time you sharpened
your axe?” The woodcutter replied, “Why, I have never sharpened my axe. I have
been too busy trying to cut down enough trees.” The moral of the story is that
you should never become too busy to take the time to sharpen your axe.
Before
Abraham Lincoln became one of America’s greatest presidents, he was a skilled
woodcutter. He said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend
the first four sharpening the axe.
How good are you at keeping your axe sharp? If you are not spending time alone with God on a regular basis ... reading and meditating on his word ... praying and listening ... then your axe is getting more and more dull as each day passes. How about spending some time today sharpening your axe.
