Learning from the Ant

Proverbs 6:6-11

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.  Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in the harvest.  How long will you lie there, O sluggard?  When will you arise from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

Learn from the ant, what can one so high on the food chain learn from an ant?  The answer is straightforward, much, for many who live in the United States of America would be wise to take a day away from feeling sorry for their lack of stuff and sit at an ant mound.  Now you may not want to do this with fire ants, those little guys have a tendency to climb on you and attack your person. 

What can one learn from an ant?  They were designed to work, and it was the design of their Creator.  Does the Creator also have a plan for us to work, if you turn to Genesis 2:2-3, we are given insight into God’s plan about work.  “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

I hope you understand God is all about work, but He also knew we needed downtime, a day of rest.

In Genesis 2:15, we have a clear understanding of God’s plan for mankind from the beginning; “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”  Man being put into the Garden of Eden to work was before the fall of man, before Adam and Eve were polluted by sin.  So it is clear that work from heavens view was not a punishment but has always been God’s plan for man.

We could title this paper moving from perfection to imperfection, for that is what had happened, before the fall it was good, no sin, no death, no predators, a world one can only dream about.

Ok, I will go watch the ants, not all day but for a short time, what should I look for?  No coffee breaks, just work, they seem to enjoy bringing in the harvest and saving for the bad days to come.  They seem to be giving 100% effort and carrying the load to the nest that would seem impossible to do.  They do not depend on a supervisor they go do the job that is required, and others help them with the find if it is too big for only one. 

When the Creator tells us to learn from something, why would one not do it, and the answer is simple many are ignorant to what God has said, others believe they are too smart to watch an ant and learn anything from it, and many have been getting their needs met outside of Christ and have no desire to change.  If you hate work, you fall into one of these groups, and it has not one thing to do with your color, your family, or your job, it all comes back to learn from the ant, and be wise.  For a man is at his best and he the happiest when he work and accomplishes something.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice