Lessons from a Lumberjack

The other day an older guy told me a story to emphasize that older people are often wiser. The story involved two lumberjacks -- one that was old and the other that was young. The younger lumberjack challenged the older lumberjack to a competition to see who could chop down more trees in a certain amount of time. The older lumberjack accepted the challenge. The day of the challenge came. Both lumberjacks showed up. Both lumberjacks gave their best effort. The younger lumberjack was sure he would win. In fact, during the competition he frequently looked over and saw the older lumberjack sitting down. When the final count came in, however, the older lumberjack came out on top. He had cut down more trees. The younger lumberjack was dumbfounded. How could this have happened? So he went up to the old man and asked him how he managed to cut down more trees. The old man replied, "While I was sitting down I made sure to sharpen my axe." The old man took breaks to rest his body and sharpen his axe. That is how he won the competition.

I have no idea why this older guy told me this story. But it got me thinking...

I think we sometimes treat our spirituality like the younger lumberjack. We pursue God with great vigor--daily devotions, Bible reading, journaling, memorizing Scripture, prayer, fasting, and so on. We have all sorts of spiritual disciplines to help us stay connected to God. And all of that has its place. Staying in disciplined pursuit of God is indeed important. But if we are not careful we can burn ourselves out by becoming enslaved to a series of disciplines. We can even feel like the degree God is present to us depends on our engagement with these disciplines. And so when we lack desire it feels like we are sliding backward spiritually.

Ever had that feeling? One day you can't get enough Bible reading, Scripture memorization, and prayer. But the next day when you get to the time when you would normally engage God through those disciplines it is like all desire is gone. You feel dry. But perhaps you aren't really dry. Perhaps you are just tired. Perhaps you just need to sit down and take a break. Not from pursuing God all together -- but to simply recharge so that you can pursue him with intensity again in the near future.

God's presence does not depend our pursuit. He is always present. We have to make sure we aren't engaging in spiritual disciplines just to feel good about our spirituality. It's not about that.

I was talking to a guy at the health club the other day. We were talking about triathlons and he made the comment that a half-triathlon is not necessarily all that much more difficult than a sprint or Olympic distance triathlon. (He had done both). "The half-tri is all about pacing yourself," he said, "but with the sprint you redline your body for the better part of an hour or more."

You can't redline your body forever. You can't go into a half-tri with a redline mentality. You won't last.

I think we can redline it spiritually. We can pursue God with great intensity and passion. We can engage in all the important spiritual disciplines. But after awhile it takes a toll. Following the Way of Jesus is much more like an Ironman than a sprint. We can't redline it forever. We need to pace ourselves. Otherwise we won't last.

Spiritual breaks -- when used correctly -- won't lead to complacency, apathy, or moral lapses -- but rather, they will have the positive effect of recharging an individual for future and more effective spiritual engagement. Next time you feel dry spiritually do some reflection. Are you really dry or are you just tired? And what would it look like to give yourself the freedom to take a purposeful break?