LEARNING FROM THE LITTLES
Proverbs 6:6-11 NKJV
6 Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise,
7 Which, having no captain,
Overseer or ruler,
8 Provides her supplies in the summer,
And gathers her food in the harvest.
9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard?
When will you rise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
A few years ago, I recall seeing a poster about things I had learned from my dog. So I Googled it, and sure enough, there is a wealth of information from dogs. Love unconditionally. Play every day. Forgive and forget are just a few of the many dog lessons available.
The Scriptures do not direct us toward dogs as an object lesson. Not that we can't learn from dogs. My dog is always happy to see me, even if I have only been gone for an hour. There has to be a good lesson in that. But the Scriptures do instruct us to learn from ants.
So here are the ant lessons from Proverbs. The first thing is that ants are the opposite of sluggards. Sluggard is not a word we typically use today, but it means lazy. Lazy people are encouraged to go to the ant because the ant is the best example for a lazy person.
Ants are self-motivated. Verse seven says that ants have no leader, no overseer and no ruler. No one is forcing them to do anything. No one is leading them to get busy. No one is holding them accountable for their actions. And yet the ant does what needs to be done when it needs to be done.
The ant is timely and prepared. The ant provides her supplies in the summer. That was a bit puzzling to me until I dug a bit deeper. A better way of phrasing this is the ant sets up or prepares for food in the summer. So, the ant does what is necessary to have a harvest. Then, when the harvest is ready, the ant gathers in the food.
Ants are working more than sleeping. Verses nine and ten, at first glance, sound as if they are not for getting a good night's sleep. But in the culture that Proverbs was written, people were not staying up late. No way to surf the internet or even do late-night work. With no electricity, people did not have the nightlife we have available today. They would often go to bed soon after dark and get up by dawn. Remember, there was no snooze button to hit. There wasn't even an alarm clock. So, to stay in bed a long time was a sign of laziness.
And if a person was constantly having to sleep, poverty was right around the corner. Verse 11 likens poverty coming like a prowler, indicating it would sneak up on you. And need coming like an armed man would indicate that need was coming and nothing was stopping it.
The emphasis that is placed on sleep today is a point of interest to me. I have noticed a real uptick in the constant call for more sleep. To read some articles, if you don't get eight hours of sleep, you are going to die early. I believe in the importance of sleep, but I am not in love with it. I realize you can't run on four hours a night, at least not for the long haul. But there will be seasons where eight hours is not happening. Don't fret about it, or act as if your quality of life will rapidly decline. Life is about making adjustments, not having everything perfect.
Remember, the ant, not the three-toed sloth, is the God-given example we are to learn from.