There is nothing like a sharp tool to get the job done. Having worked in the arborist field it is necessary that one has a sharp chain saw before they begin to cut a tree. A dull saw will not cut properly, or at all. This will cause the saw to overheat the chain and bar, bind up in the wood, and ultimately leave the tree unable to be felled. A dull saw can cause the tree to actually even fall the wrong direction, leading to dangerous circumstances. Having a dull wood working instrument can be the cause of deadly accidents. Solomon, the wisest man to live, describes this very detail in his reminiscing of life in the book of Ecclesiastes, “…
[H]e 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: but wisdom is profitable to direct.” (Ecclesiastes 10:9-10) There is a certain sense of danger in any line of work, but dangers are complicated by our own fault if we go to work with unprepared tools. A dull saw will cause the user to exert more strength upon the instrument to try to get the task done. This will cause the operator of the saw to become worn out as he will be exerting extra energy. There is a spiritual application that Solomon is driving home with this physical illustration. Wisdom is the key to the lesson. Wisdom then is as having a sharp chain saw! Living life without wisdom is like trying to get the job done with a dull saw. It takes extra effort, produces unnecessary dangers, and often the task does not get completed. How many times do folks pursue their daily lives in their own strength, without the wisdom of Christ? If only Believers would take hold of this principle. Wisdom has great profit. Its application will bring about spiritual success. Before we start our day, let us seek after the wisdom of Christ, through prayer and the Word of Wisdom. How many times spiritually we are trying to get the work done in the flesh? There is a lot of smoke and noise, but nothing of eternal value is being accomplished. Oh how we need the wisdom from the Holy Spirit to be enabled to be the sharpened believers that He desires us to be. “For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” II Corinthians 4:7