Go To The Ant
• Have you ever watched ants at work? Describe their behavior. What did you see?
• How do you feel after you’ve worked hard at something?
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! … A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
Proverbs 6:6,10-11
In these verses from Proverbs, King Solomon tells us to observe the ant. Why? Because ants are incredibly productive workers. They have a plan, they work well together, they work hard and they get the job done.
Solomon writes that a little sleep or rest will cause poverty to come on us like a thief. Now, Solomon did not mean that we’re not supposed to go to bed at night. God wants us to be healthy and get the rest that we need. What Solomon did mean is that laziness leads to more laziness, and ultimately, it can ruin a person. We can’t let laziness take over our lives.
We need to realize that God did not design us to sit around and accomplish nothing. God designed us to do work—his work. He designed us to work so that we can take care of ourselves and take care of others who need our help.
PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for blessing us with the ability to work. Please help us to be faithful in our work and to avoid laziness. Amen.