While cutting down a row of dead pine trees at our place in northeast Kansas, I was reminded of how much difference a good tool makes. I started out trying to use my old, cheap Poulan saw that I’d bought at Wal-Mart fourteen years ago. When it’s running well and outfitted with a sharp chain, the little saw does pretty well. On small stuff.

For a logger, these pine trees are small stuff; the largest one was only about twenty inches thick at the base. For a wimpy Poulan with a dull chain, they were monsters. I managed to chew, gnaw and nibble my way through the first one. It took twenty minutes. As Randa and I were trimming off the limbs and hauling everything over to the burn pile, I told her, “I’m going to get a new chain saw.”

The next morning, I picked up a new four-horsepower Stihl with a twenty inch bar and a brand new chain. Took about two minutes to cut down the next tree.

When we face life and deal with situations using faith, hope, and love, we will see better results than when we use doubt, cynicism, and indifference. When we rely upon truth and follow the leading of the Spirit, we will achieve better gains. When we zealously practice the teachings of Christ rather than mindlessly adopt the carnal practices of the world, we will enjoy more powerful lives. When we focus on conquering our own spirit rather than on judging and/or controlling others, we will find deeper satisfaction. 

We may often feel frustrated and even helpless in our lives because we continually engage in spiritual battles using carnal tools. It’s hard to build a nice coffee table using nothing but a sledgehammer. 

H. Arnett

10/5/20