The Wedge

A grizzled old man in a red plaid flannel shirt and work-stained trousers is at the chopping block. The tree is long since gone; only a two-foot wide stump remains, cut so as to be the perfect height to chop wood. He selects a piece of log and places it flat on the stump. He uses a wedge-shaped tool, an ax, to break through the log. The ax goes up. The ax comes down.

The log is split in two.

It is exactly what the old man wants: a log that will easily fit in his fireplace to bring warmth through the winter.

But the results of a spiritual wedge are less comforting than a fireplace full of logs, even though the concept is the same.

A wedge is a simple machine, a tool that is wider at one end. It can be made of wood or metal, although an ax is always metal, of course. The purpose: to incrementally increase the space between two things. The old man's wedge increases the space between the left side of the log and the right side.

My spiritual wedge increases the space between me and God.

What is my wedge? For me, it is entertainment. I love to read, and while I try to avoid smut, even reading innocuous drivel will separate me from God if I read too much of it. Too much TV. Reaching for comfort food instead of for God's comfort. Even relationships that are based on complaining or defeatism instead of encouragement and mutual growth can be a wedge.

Romans 12:2 talks about separation, separation from the things of the world. I must separate myself from the Wedges. But separation from the Wedge is not enough.

I must also change my thinking. "Renewing your mind" means that it gets old and needs to be made new again. Reading the Word, meditating and memorizing and studying it, will renew my mind.

Again.

And again.

So that God and I are not split in two.