“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” (Proverbs 6:6) (NIVUK)
An individual ant is small and fragile. By all appearances it is vulnerable and insignificant. So why is the sluggard (lazy person) called to ‘consider it’s ways‘?
Consider the ant when we are feeling weak:
Even though an ant appears to have little strength of its own, it can carry up to 50 times it’s body weight. This apparently equates to about 10 medium sized washing machines for an average human!
“‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (2 Cor 12:9) (NIVUK)
Consider the ant when we feel self-important:
Every member of the ant colony is important. Each has their special role to play, and no individual is more important than another. They have no commander, yet everyone gets on with their role and no one is sitting around waiting for someone else to do it.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (2 Cor 12:27) (NIVUK)
Consider the ant when we want to give up:
Ants persevere. They keep going and never give up despite obstacles – instead they simply find a way to work around them.
“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:4) (NIVUK)
So, it’s wise advice to ‘look to the ant’. Even if we feel small and insignificant, to never give up, to work hard at what God has called us to, to work together, and not to think of ourselves more highly than others.
“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23) (NIVUK)
Karen Barclay
