Stay Sharp

ONCE UPON A time, a strong woodcutter got a job with a timber merchant. The pay was good, so he determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe. The first day he brought 18 trees. He tried harder, but only managed 15 the second day. The third day saw him bring only 10.
Day by day the amount decreased. The woodcutter thought he was losing his strength and went to the boss and apologized.
"When last did you sharpen your axe?" asked the timber merchant. "Sharpen? I had no time for that. I was very busy trying to cut trees," replied the woodcutter.
Our lives are like this. We get so busy that we don’t take time to sharpen our axe. Everyone is busier, but less happy than ever. Why? We have forgotten how to stay sharp.
There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things like taking time to pray and worship Allah Ta’ala.
If we don’t sharpen our axes, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.