They’re usually a sign of impatience.
When I was a teenager, I cut my teeth as a mechanic at a local service station, and let’s just say I ruined my fair share of bolts while learning the ropes. At first, the mistakes were innocent. I didn’t yet recognize what a proper socket fit felt like. Mix a standard bolt with a metric socket and add a pneumatic wrench, and the results are almost always destructive.
But as my mechanical understanding grew, the excuse of inexperience wore thin. Rounded bolt heads were no longer about what I didn’t know — they were about my lack of patience and my unwillingness to go the extra mile to grab the right tool for the job.
There were plenty of times I found myself flat on my back under a vehicle, the proper tool nowhere in sight. In those moments, I’d convince myself I could make do with what was within reach. I’d try to muscle through it, hoping for the best — and that’s when the damage happened. The irony? Once a bolt is rounded off, it usually takes two or three times longer to remove than it ever would have if I’d just taken a few extra minutes to get the right tool from the start.
Over the years, I’ve learned just about every trick for removing damaged bolts. Extractors, heat, vice grips — you name it. But none of them are as effective as simply using the right tool from the beginning and preventing the damage altogether.
That’s why Ecclesiastes 10:10 hits home: “If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has the advantage of bringing success.”
Just like grabbing the “next best thing” under a car, when we refuse to sharpen the axe, we end up exhausting ourselves trying to achieve what preparation would have made far easier. There’s an old quote often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” The saying has endured for a reason — because it’s true.
Too often, especially as Christian men, we feel the pressure to hit the ground running. We want to fix problems quickly, lead boldly, stand firm, and take ground immediately. But the world has a way of chewing up unprepared men and spitting them out burned out and discouraged.
Scripture reminds us that effectiveness requires readiness. Sharpening the axe isn’t flashy. It doesn’t draw attention. It rarely feels productive in the moment. But it is absolutely necessary.
For the Christian man, sharpening doesn’t look like hype — it looks like habits and standards. It’s studying God’s Word deeply instead of skimming it. It’s real prayer, not rushed words. It’s time with brothers who challenge and refine you. It’s serving in grounded, meaningful ways. It’s welcoming correction, discipline, and growth rather than resisting it.
These things don’t earn applause, but they prepare you for the battles you will inevitably face.
So the question Ecclesiastes forces us to ask is simple: What disciplines have grown dull? What relationships need sharpening? What habits need repair before you lean on them again?
Because when the moment comes — and it will — you don’t want to discover your edge is gone.
Preparation doesn’t slow you down. It preserves you. And the man who sharpens his axe before he swings is the man who endures.
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