BY JACK WARD
PASTOR, TOMAHAWK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

“But as one was cutting down a tree the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, ‘Alas, master! For it was borrowed.’” (2 Kings 6:5)

The ax fell into the water. They lost their cutting edge. How do we get it back when we lose our cutting edge?

“And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us.’” (2 Kings 6:1)

This school was not standing still. They were growing, they were increasing in enrollment, they were adding students, they were lengthening their cords and strengthening their stakes; this was a school that was on the move.

Anything that moves causes friction, and anything that doesn’t move is dead. IN ANY AREA OF LIFE, GROWTH ALWAYS CAUSES PROBLEMS. As your children grow you’ve got to buy more clothes, more cars, more food. As churches grow, there is a need for new buildings, more parking, more land, more staff. But this was a school that was willing to pay the price, put in the hours, and make whatever sacrifice was necessary to continue to grow.

One of the ways to deal with losing your cutting edge is to stay productive. A psychologist at Stanford University tried to show that we live for productive results, or what you and I might call fruit. This researcher hired a man, a logger. He said, “I will pay you double what you get paid in the logging camp if you will take the blunt end of this ax and just pound this log all day. You’ll never have to cut one piece of wood; just take the end that is blunt and hit it as hard as you can, just as if you were logging.”

This man worked for half a day at double the pay he was normally getting and he quit. The psychologist asked, “Why did you quit?” The logger said, “Because every time I move an ax, I have to see the chips fly. If I don’t see the chips fly, it’s no fun.”

I am convinced that there are a lot of people in the church who get no joy out of church; they get no joy out of their Christian life because they are using the wrong end of the ax, and no chips are flying. They are producing no fruit. They are not being productive for the kingdom of God, and therefore their joy is gone.

Whether you work at a seminary or a steakhouse, you serve God and ought to serve God with joy. You see, serving God is totally different from serving anyone else. The Bible says, “Serve the Lord with gladness.” (Psalm 100:2)

Why should we serve the Lord with gladness? I’ll tell you why. In Acts 17:25 (ESV) we read, “[God is not] served by human hands as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life an breath and everything.”

We serve God with gladness because we do not bear the burden of meeting His needs; we rejoice in a service where He meets our needs. That is why we ought to have a passion for labor. It will help you keep your cutting edge.

Hear Pastor Jack’s sermons and more at tomahawkmbc.com.