Counsel From A Parent II

Saturday, May 21, 2022

A Lesson from the Ant

6-11 You lazy fool, look at an ant.

    Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.

Nobody has to tell it what to do.

    All summer, it stores up food;

    at harvest, it stockpiles provisions.

So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?

    How long before you get out of bed?

A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,

    sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?

Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,

    poverty your permanent houseguest!

-Proverbs 6:6-11 The Message

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;

    consider her ways, and be wise.

7 Without having any chief,

    officer, or ruler,

8 she prepares her bread in summer

    and gathers her food in harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?

    When will you arise from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

    a little folding of the hands to rest,

11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,

    and want like an armed man.

Verses 6-11 studies: Oh, we all love to sleep! When you are in a deep sleep, those moments are lovely. Then you hear the alarm clock going off to start another workday. It is something to resist as another workday is approaching. But the book of Proverbs talks about giving in to the temptation of laziness and sleeping instead of working. Now, understand that it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t rest. God gave the Jews the Sabbath, a weekly day of rest and restoration. But we shouldn’t rest when we should be working. I don’t know a lot about ants, but ants economically utilize their energy and resources. If laziness turns us from our responsibilities, poverty may soon bar us from the rest we need to enjoy.