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over a place where the skin hath any manner of hurt. Yea, and I have lotions
and talcum powder, and lots of stuff to make a fellow feel good. Otherwise
must I go out of business. 'And I meditated much on what the barber said to
me. And I said to my soul, If the barber needeth healing lotions and
emollients in his business, much more do I. I will not attempt to run my
business with sharp instruments only ... And I told it to Keturah. And
Keturah spake to me and said, 'Tell it to all men who preach; for among them
are many men who possess as little wisdom as doth my lord. Yea, and there
may be a few who know even less' (William E. Barton).
'Sharpeners' and 'Sweeteners' go, therefore, together.
Let us look at
what the Word has to say of them.
'Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a
man's friend by hearty counsel' (Prov. 27:9).
'Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his
friend' (Prov. 27:17).
Here, in this one chapter, we have the sharp instruments and the
soothing lotions together.
The amateur often looks with a critical eye at the craftsman sharpening
his tools. He would not waste all that time, he thinks, before beginning
work. In Ecclesiastes we read,
'If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to
more strength: but wisdom is profitable to direct' (Eccles. 10:10).
lt is evident that wisdom is the whetstone, and without wisdom our good
intentions will miscarry. The same spirit that criticizes the use of the
whetstone as a waste of good time, criticizes the attempts of An Alphabetical
Analysis to make words live, to sharpen the understanding, to give point to
the teaching of the Scripture by all and every means at our disposal. The
Psalmist speaks of the wicked, 'who whet their tongue like a sword' (Psa
64:3). We refer to this, not that we should emulate them, but that we should
realize that the figure is applicable to speech. Sharpness, in the good
sense of the word, demands the whetstone of 2 Timothy 2:15. Clearness of
proclamation presupposes clearness of understanding. If we are uncertain
ourselves of our calling, we shall not impress others except with our
dullness.
We must not spend all our time, however, on the Sharpeners, or we shall
be considered by Keturah as even less wise than her husband Safed. Let us
remember that the same friend who sharpens, can also soothe. This is
accomplished, as Proverbs 27:9 says, by 'hearty counsel'. When we minister
the Word of God, those to whom we minister may be able to say: 'How sweet are
Thy words unto my taste' (Psa. 119:103). Our walk in love, and any little
kindness we can do for Christ's sake, may merit the words of Ephesians 5:2 or
Philippians 4:18:
'I have ... received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from
you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing
to God'.
Any ministry that can be spoken of in the terms that describe the great
sacrifice of Christ Himself, must be ministry indeed. The Shulamite said of
her beloved, that his lips were like lilies 'dropping sweet smelling myrrh'