Sharpening the Axe: The Power of Perseverance, Friendship, and Growth

ride so far A lot of great things going on , but I'm excited about where we're going as a brand . I'm also excited about what I'm hearing from you guys Every once in a while , whenever you try to start well , every once in a while , if you are a pioneer or if you are someone who is an innovator , you're creating things , you're building new things .

If you have any of that in you , any kind of entrepreneurial spirit in you , you're going to be facing some discouragement . At some point in time , you're going to feel like people don't have your back . You're going to feel like you're not doing enough . You're going to feel like what , the all that you are doing , isn't making enough of a difference .

You're going to feel a lot of those things we all do . I do just being transparent , but that's not what my hope is . My trust is in Jesus and I recognize that everything I'm doing is a seed . In my opinion , I'm not wasting my time . I believe that it's making a difference .

So every time I hear back from you guys and you tell me how a specific episode impacts you yeah , baby , that's hitting the spot , because that's telling me that you know what everything you do is to see .

You know you can't see it and you know , if you're at all involved with gardening or planting , you get that the sea is not outside of the ground , it's underground , it's in darkness , it's in total darkness . Actually , you can't even see it growing until it begins to sprout and root . Then you begin to see evidence of what's grown .

So every time I hear from you guys the comments , the questions you've been asked about topics on the show , suggestions you may have and things you want to see on our brand of shows , it's encouraging , man . It lets me know that I'm doing a work that's worth something .

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Do the same thing on Apple Podcasts , where you can download all of our shows from the past four plus seasons and , of course , hit subscribe there as well , please as well . Thank you very much for all support . Let's chat a little bit . This episode is the sharpening of the axe .

You know , I know I talk about friendship a lot and hopefully you guys that know me consider me to be a good friend , because I do aspire to be , that . I give a lot of myself to my friends , not in a way that people might do in the world around us , where they kind of just waste time and they don't have anything of value to offer .

I try to take a different route , but I really believe in friendship . I really believe in that level of relationship and I try to really invest in it . I've done it over the years , to some degree to my detriment . I've shared some stories about that on previous podcast episodes . You can definitely catch them on Apple Podcasts for sure . But I've done that .

I've done that a lot . That's because it matters to me , that's why I do it . When I think about sharpening the ax , it was something that just kind of hit me when I was reading some scripture . Proverbs 27 and 17 was where I kind of landed to kind of start some of that .

But it says as iron sharpens iron , so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend . I think we're using it now even in the sports room . They say iron sharpens iron . I'll be real with you . They don't even know what that means . They don't even understand what the scripture is talking about . They're just using scriptural catchphrases .

Now I don't know what's going on with some of these sports networks , but that's what they're doing . But I'm taking a different route . I want to stay as close to God's heart in this as possible .

So when I think about iron sharpening iron , if you've ever seen the process , for example , let's see if you've ever seen a video or watched a documentary on how swords are made . I've seen some of my videos . Recently of my birthday gift , I got a Claymore sword . I'm in love with it . I don't touch it , I don't play with it , because it's really sharp .

No mistakes allowed there . But I'm just enamored by it . It's such a majestic weapon . I know we've seen it in movies and in cinema and stuff . It just it's up on my wall in my office . It's like , wow , this is a sword . I mean , this is like I'm kind of just giddy about it . It's weird , but hey , that's who I am .

But if you've ever seen a documentary on how swords are made and how they're sharpened , it's awe-inspiring . Now , a blacksmith's hammer on a sword isn't a pleasant sight . If you were a sword and you had feelings , you would hate to be pounded on and struck so many times .

All the friction and the sparks that come off of it because iron is hitting iron it's not a pleasant situation by looking at it . I know swords don't have feelings , but nor does metal . But to look at that it lets you know that there's a lot of friction involved with the process of iron sharpening iron . Now , you don't use cotton to sharpen iron .

You don't use wood to sharpen iron . You use something that's just as strong as what you're trying to sharpen , if not stronger . So the idea of iron sharpening iron makes sense . So in this context the scripture says in Proverbs 27 and 17, . As iron sharpens iron , so does a man sharpen the countenance of his friend . What does countenance mean In basic terms ?

It means your face , your demeanor , your attitude , your behavior . It also goes on to mean moral support , encouragement , your composure , your conduct , your ability to have restraint All those things mean countenance . That's a lot to chew on but I want to try to keep it as basic as possible here .

But if you have a friend , ask yourself do you sharpen your friend's countenance , do you encourage your friend to that level ? Is there friction involved ? What's the response to that level ? Is there friction involved ? What's the response to that friction ?

Now , I know if a sword did have feelings and he's seen that blacksmith hammer coming their way , the sword would probably take off and run because they don't want to get that kind of friction , that kind of activity , that level of impact on their life because it's hard , it's sharp . If you watch a documentary on how metal is sharpened , you see it .

It's very , very explosive and impactful and probably doesn't feel good if a sword or metal had feelings . So , as you , being a friend , are you willing to allow somebody to sharpen you ? When I talk about friendship so much , because it means so much to me .

I've had a lot of bad experiences with it and something that I desire and ascribe to be a better friend because of what I've gone through , because of what I've seen in my life . But I had to ask myself that question and I'm asking you the question I ask myself .

Okay , hopefully my answer is self-explanatory , but I asked a question today to you to ask myself Are you willing to allow somebody to sharpen your countenance ? If you heard the example I just gave you about how metal is sharpened , you understand that fishing comes with the sharpening of a friend's countenance .

We need strong friends in our lives , no question about that . I know a lot of folks that have friends . Do . They have strong friends ? Different question , different episode . We don't need friends that provide us with an advantage or first crack at opportunity to be spotlighted in some way .

We need friends that are strong friends , that are faithful , friends , that are consistent . That's what we need . The quote about sharpening the axe comes from , or has been attributed to , abraham Lincoln . In his famous quote he said give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe . Take a minute to ponder that .

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I'll spend the first four sharpening the ax . What does that mean ? What does that indicate in the day ? What that's saying is that preparation is key , and we'll get into that a little bit .

It's going to be a little bit of a part of this episode today , but take the time to kind of hold on to that for a second . We're going to come back to it . So when we're talking about an ax , we know what it's used for . It's used to chop down trees , to make wood for fireplaces or for kindling or whatever . We understand that .

But we understand in the process of sharpening any kind of metal there's going to be friction . Ecclesiastes 10 , verse 10 , reads like this If the axe is dull , dull and one does not sharpen it or sharpen the edge , excuse me that he must use more strength . But wisdom brings success . I love it , the reason why I saw him with the wisest man in the world .

Listen to that . I'm going to read it again Ecclesiastes 10 , verse 10 . It reads if the ax is dull and one does not sharpen the edges , then he must use more physical strength . But wisdom brings success . How many of you ever felt like you've been wasting your time doing something that just has not been working out for you .

You have not been working small , but you have been working hard . You know a lot of folks that work hard and they're miserable . They don't see the benefit of anything that they've done , they just work hard . They don't see any fruits of their labor . Do they have sharpened axes ? Do they have sharpened edges or are they having to use more strength ?

That's the epitome to me of working smart , not hard . Abraham Lincoln's point was just spot on . He was spot on . If you gave him six hours to chop down a tree , he's not going to spend six hours chopping a tree down . He's going to sharpen that axe for four hours to make sure that the time he spends is as minimal as possible having to chop

down that tree In his assessment , two hours . Think about things in your life in that same way . We haven't forgotten about friendship . We're still there . I want to come back to it . But just think about that In the light of Ecclesiastes 10 and 10, . If the axe is dull and one is not sharp in the edge , you have to use more strength .

You have to use more physical . When physical isn't the main requirement , you need strength to chop down a tree , but that shouldn't be where your strength is coming from . It should be from the impact of the axe against that wood . If it's sharp enough .

Your time is less , you're using less of your physical ability and draining yourself or potentially injuring yourself , and you're getting the job done . But wisdom brings success . What does all that mean ? In light of what we're talking about , it feels as though to me that we operate and function as if we have time . We live our lives like we have time .

We look at the calendar as if we have plenty of time to get project A , project B , project C done . But in reality , time is brief and it's very fleeting .

Every time you drive on the interstate and you see an accident or a car is turned over or a car is on fire , or an ambulance taking somebody to a hospital , or you see a funeral procession , or even look at the news and in the media , those are all great examples or great reminders of why time and life is fleeting . We don't have it to waste .

We're still talking about friendship . I'm still getting there . I'll be taking the long road to get there , but we're still there . We take our time for granted . That's pretty clear in a lot of ways and we probably can see that . But , talking to you as a friend , you cannot fear the sharpening process . You can't run away from the process .

If that sword had legs and it had feelings , as soon as the blacksmith's hammer started in their direction they'd be gone Because they don't want to deal with the pain and the friction . That's the challenge of friendship . Our main point today , that's the challenge of friendship , our main point today . That's the challenge of friendship .

We don't want to deal with the friction , we don't want to deal with the pain . Honestly , I know a lot of folks who have friends . I can name them all , one by one , people who I know who have a lot of friends .

But I'm challenged to find people who I know , who are willing to endure the sharpening of the countenance , who are willing to endure the friction and still maintain a strong bond between them . See , bonds of brotherhood are deep . Man , in this time and in this climate , we should never be walking alone , but so many of us are .

We're not walking together , having a mutual concern . We're not facing some of the same things . We're not bonding together to get past struggles and tribulation and issues and conflicts . Many of us are walking alone and a lot of times and this is just commentary , generally speaking , it's not about anybody that I know .

But generally speaking , most of the time that people are walking alone is because it's not because they don't want friendship , it's because they don't want what comes with friendship . See , real friendship involves a little bit of cutting . Real friendship involves a little bit of friction . There's going to be times that you will not agree .

Me and my best friends growing up we didn't agree on everything . Sometimes we had some knockdown drag out . At the end of the day , if you mess with him , you mess with me . If you mess with me , you mess with me . If you mess with me , you mess with him . And it was powerful and it was real and it was long-lasting .

I was willing to endure the friction , endure the cutting , because I knew that at the end of the day , I understood that man's heart . I knew he was my friend for sure . How many of you can see that in the friends you have right now ? Don't point fingers at them . If you're watching it right now together , don't look at a person , don't bring them out .

I'm just asking a question for you to ponder and meditate on . How many of you have that level of friendship where you have friction , you have a sharpening , and it's not pleasant . It doesn't even feel good to be where you have friction , you have a sharpening , and it's not pleasant . It doesn't even feel good to be in the midst of that process .

But you're willing to do it because at the end of the day you'll be sharpened , or in other words , you're improved and developed . You don't fear the sharpening process . Have you ever had somebody who just rubbed you the wrong way ? I don't care what's going on . They're not doing evil against you , they're not bringing mischief into your life .

But every time you talk to them it impacts you and it stretches you and it challenges you in a way that you have not been able to understand up to this point . I've heard from some folks that I'm that person . Not sure that feels good , but I think I understand . But there's some folks that just rub you the wrong way . They don't .

They irritate you in a good way Well , it should be a good way if you receive it that way . But they stretch you and challenge you in areas that maybe you don't want to deal with , things you ignore because they were comfortable to you . These folks address those things straight away . They can get into a whole bunch of different areas , but they don't .

They go right straight to the heart of that thing you don't want to deal with . They rub you the wrong way . There are people who call me big brother , who call me uncle , you , who call me uncle , you , who call me dad or papa and all kinds of stuff .

It's not because I need to have all these titles and these hats to wear so I can feel good about me .

But what I think is going on from what they explained to me is that when they hear me talk to them in this very unique way that I do , when they hear me talk to them in this very unique way that I do , it hits something inside of them that makes them feel challenged , but they also feel safe . They know I'm not trying to hurt them .

They know that I only want their best . I got their best interest in my heart and they respect me for it their words , not mine . They respect me for it and they respect what I it their words , not mine .

They respect me for it and they respect what I'm trying to do and what I'm trying to hone and encourage them and sharpen in me , and not only do I do that for others , but I am excited about that being done for me . I want to be improved and developed .

I want to be sharpened by a friend , this friction that comes with that , this conflict that comes with that , this loud sounds and noises and grinding that come with that , but at the end of the day we're sharper for it . Do you have that kind of friend ? I wish I had more time to stay on this , but I don't . But it's something to think about .

If there's a person that rubs you in that way that reminds you of somebody and they don't know why , or every time you talk to them , they stretch you , they impact you , they challenge you . In that way , don't do what the sword would do if it had legs .

Don't run away , Don't hide from the person , don't try to avoid them , don't try not to make eye contact with them so they won't come and talk to you . Run towards them . I know this is crazy advice , but it's good advice . Trust me on this one . Run towards them .

If that person moves you the wrong way and they're not bringing evil and mischief in your life , if they're not bringing foolishness into your life , run towards them . Let's find out why that challenge is happening , why we're impacted the way that we are . Let's embrace it , let's explore it . Let's be brave and courageous . Run toward that person .

Spend time with that person , have coffee with that person , have lunch with that person , invite that person over for dinner . Spend time with them . Find out why you feel what you feel . Find out why they impact you emotionally , psychologically and spiritually the way that they do . Rather than run and hide and try to avoid it , run towards it .

From past experience , I guarantee you you'll learn something about them and , most importantly , you'll learn something about you Wherever you are and however you're listening To the Call Me , mr U the podcast . We thank you for making us part of your week . Sharpen the countenance of your friends . Iron sharpens iron . Sharpen the countenance of your friend .

If you got six hours to cut down a tree , do what Abraham Lincoln did Take the four hours to sharpen that axe . So you're not wasting your time and your energy . Friendship takes work . Put the work in

, have a great day , enjoy the music . Coach out you .