Lessons from Proverbs
Proverbs 6:6
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
One life principle that we learn from the book of Proverbs is the value of work. The first thing that God gave to Adam in the garden of Eden is work. He was given the responsibility to take care of the garden and to name the animals. The writer of Proverbs tells us to study the ant and in doing so we will obtain wisdom. Think about this, the ant has no overseer or ruler and yet it works like a machine.
How many of us are able to work without supervision? Are we diligent enough to work and remain focused when there is no one to look over our shoulders? Think of the size of an ant and then consider the size of its brain if it has one. Even with that tiny brain, the ant is able to plan and work more than some humans will do in their entire lifetime and prepare for the future. The ant understands that if it does not work and store up food then it will starve and die in the coming season. This also brings out the fact that the ant understands the seasons and time.
Working hard is one thing, but are you able to plan and strategize like an ant?
God has given us a strong body and a brain that can work wonders but sometimes we do not want to put it to work, instead, we wait on God for a miracle.
Joshua 5:11-12
11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after[d] they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.
Think about this, all the forty years when the children of Israel were in the wilderness they did not have to work for food and neither did they have to worry about their clothing. God provided manna for them and the Bible says that their clothes and sandals did not wear out.
But the moment that Joshua led them into the land of promise, something changed. The day they ate of the produce of the land, the manna stopped meaning from that time on if you did not work and till the land, if you did not sow then you would have nothing to reap and you would not eat.
2 Thessalonians 3:10 (NIV)
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
Work is not a curse, it is a blessing from the Lord and He expects each one to work. If you do not work, then how will He bless the work of your hands?
May we learn from a tiny creature with a tiny brain. The ant thinks ahead, plans and executes without supervision. How much more we?
