And whatever you do, in word or deed [including scissor sharpening and hairdressing], do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.  Colossians 3:17 Although ‘quality’  and ‘values’ are  central themes of Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance  this site, our life and hairdressing scissors have nothing to do with Zen or Motorcycle Maintenance. Everything has to do with God and our relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Neither Zen nor bikes have eternity value, only God! Welcome "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 I am Gabriel. I have been blessed by Jesus Christ with a passion for sharpening hairdressing scissors. I am what you could call a professional sharpener of hairdressing scissors. You might need me as a sharpener on occasion, but we all need Him - always and forever! Jesus Christ and the Art of Scissor Sharpening First things First Jesus Christ Before going anywhere I’d like to stress that I am a Christian. Not by census or poll like the majority, but by heart - that, together with what we as Christians do, how we do it and our eternal destiny is what sets us apart not only from other so-called christians but all other religions, sects, cults and fads; thus all other people on earth. This means Christianity is totally exclusive, you’re either in or out. You’re in Christ or out of Christ. This is politically in-correct and radical, yet true. Being in Christ means that you have totally subjected yourself to Him because He, being fully God and man, paid fully the price which had to be paid for your sin. This sin is two- fold, firstly inherited from Adam onwards and secondly wilfully commited. The penalty for any deviation from the perfect holiness of God is death. The death of Jesus Christ was not only the worst humanly possible death, but over and above that He had to undergo what all believers in Him will never have to endure, but all outside of Him will have to endure for ever - the excruciating reality of Hell. Jesus Christ died 2000 years ago, but He rose from the grave in bodily form and was seen by hundreds of people for 40 days during which He still ministered. Thereafter He ascended to sit at the right hand of God! His triumph over death is shared by all those in Him, those not in Him will have to bear death themselves. Christ is to be found in His Word, the Bible, and in fervent and unselfish prayer - remember, the biggest single obstacle is pride and your ego - even if it is under the guise of morality - even depression is in the end self-pity! Back to Scissors The fact that I am a Christian does not preclude me from sharpening your scissors or selling you a new pair. To communicate with you is in fact a blessing as I love to share the good news of Christ, even if the method of drawing your attention is as mundane as scissor sharpening! Even if you don’t believe in Christ, you will like your scissors after I serviced them - I might be able to transform your scissors into ‘new’ cutting instruments, but transforming you into someone new, someone more like Christ, only God can do through the Holy Spirit. At this point it is important to note that I only act as Christ’s tool in sharpening your scissors - no I don’t go in a trance and mumble some mantras whilst sharpening, I have an ordinary conversation with Christ during which I humbly request Him to assist me and I therein also relinquish my claim on the ‘success’ of the operation and give Him the credit for the outcome - for am I not His child and can a child not ask his father? But what if I happen to make a mistake, I mean I’m just human, you might ask. Good question. My answer is simply that 1st of all in this material, secular life perfection can’t be attained and that is where my 14 day warranty tries in some respect to make up; initially this warranty was unconditional for three months, but people thought it a hoax, so I’ve tuned it down somewhat.