| “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,” – Proverbs 6:6 |
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| Learning DILIGENCE, (to be hard at work) from an ANT! One cannot read through the book of Proverbs without noticing that King Solomon has a major problem with those who are LAZY. There are close to 20 verses to address the lazy, the sluggard, the idle, and the slothful. To the ones who are lazy and sluggards, he will be very direct and challenge them to change their behavior! There will be no compliments for being lazy! On the other hand, there are those who work hard and are diligent. They are responsible with responsibilities and as he writes of them, he commends and compliments them. He will commend them as being wise! He will commend them by saying diligence is a man’s precious possession. While Solomon conveys his displeasure with the lazy and the sluggard, he also looks for ways to teach a strong work ethic to those who are lazy and slothful, to the one who is a SLUGGARD. And of all the places and of all the animals to use to teach the sluggard, he sees the work ethic of the ANTS. Picture him seeing ants in his yard or in a field. He sees those ANTS working! They do not have an overseer, yet they are diligently working to gather into their storehouse food for future use. As he is watching them work, he calls on the sluggard, the lazy, to look at them and learn! Have you considered ants? Just as Jesus told us to consider the birds so we might not worry, Solomon tells us to consider the ANTS so that we might learn to WORK! The ANT understands the necessity of preparing for the future. The ANT understands that there are seasons of opportunities and that those opportunities are to be seized in a timely matter. The sluggard (what an awful description) will miss opportunities and fail to be ready for the future. So even while it may be embarrassing Solomon says CONSIDER the little ant so one can WISE UP, GET UP, and GET TO WORKING!! As you dive into your responsibilities today what is the ANT teaching you? Verse to DATE the Word on June 6 (6/6) is Proverbs 6:6. It says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise,” Continue Strong with a strong work ethic, And remember to DATE the Word BTW – Solomon gained much wisdom from taking the time to observe a variety of animals. When looking to convey life lessons of the highest order he went to four animals that most likely would not make our top list when thinking about lessons to learn from animals. However, he saw four small, little animals and called them exceedingly wise. Do you recall? Proverbs 30:24 There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: 25 The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer; 26 The rock badgers are a feeble folk, Yet they make their homes in the crags; 27 The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks; 28 The spider skillfully grasps with its hands, And it is in kings’ palaces.” Why are these four animals so wise, so exceedingly wise? The ants value preparation. The rock badgers value protection. The locusts value cooperation. The spider values imagination. |