Original Habit 7: Stop Striving and Sharpen Your Saw: The Art of Receiving
0Top o' the Mornin' to Ya!
Note: This was actually my first recording of Habit 7, which I found after re-recording the topic. I believe this version captures something valuable about the "stop striving" message that's worth sharing alongside the other version.
TLDR: Sharpen the saw isn't just about productivity - it's about stopping our striving, learning to receive, and connecting authentically with God and other Christian men to prevent physcial, spiritual and emotional burnout.
School's out, so I'm not walking home from dropping Liz off. I'm wearing my cool shirt today - "Be a man, follow Jesus" - and here in my three-season porch, looking out on the world. It's a little bit cool this morning, and we're at my favorite step of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Step seven, sharpen the saw.
What?
Sharpen the saw lines perfectly with our first pillar in the Kingdom Family Leader path: bless yourself. The story in the book talks about a wood cutter sawing and sawing away, working so hard. A guy comes up and asks what he's working so hard for. "I gotta get this wood cut," he says, but he's slowing down because the bits on his blade are getting duller and duller. The guy says, "Sharpen your saw."
I'm in a season of learning to receive. My coach said, "Why don't you take this time and receive more?" I responded, "Oh no, that's not what men do. Men create and work and work." But multiple coaches, a pastor, and the Bible all said the same thing to me at the same time.
There's the Bible verse "Be still and know that I am God." When I looked up the reference, I was dumbfounded because in my NASB version, the words weren't "be still" - they were "stop striving." I realized I'm striving, trying so hard, working so hard, but God was saying "stop striving and know that I am God." Be more, don't stive more.
Why?
I shared this story because it's not normal to step back and sharpen our saw, but it needs to be normal. We need to do it in all areas - at home, in the family, in our vocation, our businesses, and in our church and community. Sometimes we are the only Bible that people will read.
2025 is my year of "stop striving" - serve, love, be present, and sharpen the saw. That's habit seven that we're talking about today.
Lesson
Where do you need to stop striving? Where do you need to learn something, get more training? Are you working out? Are you reading, studying and meditationg on His Word? I like the Morning Savers from Miracle Morning - silence, affirmations, visualization, exercise, reading, and scribing.
The key is connection. As Christian men, when we are out alone, we are attacked by doubts, fears, and struggles. When we connect, that is blessing ourselves. One of the greatest ways to bless ourselves is connecting with other Christian men - not just for prayer and Bible study, but connecting for real.
You gotta let down the guard, let down the mask, be real, present and get in. That's sharpening the saw. Iron sharpens iron - one man sharpens another. One man is your sharpening stone, and that only works through real connection. Without real connection, there's no sharpening that's going to happen.
Apply
Where do you need to stop striving and start receiving? What areas of your saw need sharpening - your physical health, spiritual disciplines, learning and growth, or authentic connections?
Do the Morning Savers - whatever they are for you, mix them up, choose them, pick them out. Get in God's Word, learn something, grow something, take care of your body, and most importantly - connect authentically with other Christian men who can sharpen you as you sharpen them.
Stop the endless striving and start the intentional sharpening. Your effectiveness in every area depends on it.
You be blessed!
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If you're ready to connect authentically with other Christian men who will sharpen your saw through real brotherhood, visit https://brian.chat/ to explore joining a Kingdom Family Leader mastermind where iron sharpens iron.
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