Look to the Ant

It is interesting to me that the wisest man who ever lived had a tendency to write about things that are incredibly simple. In fact…I have noticed that of the people I have had the opportunity to meet…those that are the best communicators, the smartest and the wisest were also able to share their wisdom in an incredibly simple manner.

Proverbs 6:6-8 – “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

Solomon in all his wisdom goes to the ant for an illustration of how we are to live. Surely this was to focus on a specific trait of the ant…but still…what an honor for the ant. So what do we learn in this scripture passage?

As I have read and re-read and then read this passage again I find that you can try to read too much into this. I think we need to look for the obvious. With the wisdom that Solomon possessed you have to know that he understood how people would perceive what he is writing. That is a part of wisdom…knowing how to communicate with those that you are talking with. So given that, I see that we can learn a few things:

· Vs. 6 – Don’t be lazy! You don’t see many ants sleeping. They are always working, they are always doing something. Now, I don’t know the physical makeup of the ant. But I know that if they need rest they will take it. You just don’t see it. That tells me that when it is time to work you work. When it is time to rest you rest. Meaning that you don’t have a hundred people at your house when you are trying to rest. That isn’t rest!! That is work. This is where so many people make a big mistake. They work all week and then on the weekends…when they are supposedly resting…they have a full schedule of things to do with other people. THAT IS NOT RESTING!
· Vs. 7 – The ant doesn’t have a boss screaming at him to get things done. He just does it. When you are only doing things because the boss tells you to, and if you don’t do it you might get fired…well, at that point you are just doing what you’re doing for the paycheck. And at that point a good part of your existence is being spent serving money! What Solomon is saying in this verse through the illustration of an ant is that you should be doing what you do because it is what you were created for. Do what you do on purpose!
· Vs. 8 – This verse is interesting to me because Solomon does not elude to the sowing portion. Yet we know that this is a big part of what we are to do. What Solomon talks about here is that the ant is busy either storing up or harvesting. Basically he is saying that the ant is never in “want.” The ant always has plenty. He just goes out and gets it and he stores up for the time that he will need it. When I thought about this it parallels what scripture promises for us. God’s plans for us include the plan to prosper us, to give us hope, to give us a future. God tells us that if he can make sure that the flowers and the birds are taken care of how much more will he take care of us. The worries and the shortcomings that we perceive are simply based on what we consider to be important. We need to get back to basics. Like the ant.

Have a blessed day,

RodZ

© 2008 – Rodney Zimmerman – All rights reserved