When God says, “consider the ant” he means “spend some time observing the ant’s behaviors.” Don’t just glance and move on. Sit down on the ground and watch the ants. What are they like? What do they do? The simple answer is NOT the answer. Don’t be quick to just say “the ant is busy working.” Rather, observe more closely and think about the ant’s activities.

For example, ants keep their nest clean. That means they have some ants doing cleanup. Some ants collect food. Every ant shares the benefits of the cleaning and the food gathered. The younger ants stay inside the nest and take care of things in the nest. Other ants go outside to find food and to protect the nest from invaders. Ants work together. If an ant finds food, it tells other ants where to find the food and they work together to collect and transport the food.

Ants are diligent workers when the weather is good to prepare for winter. Ants don’t let obstacles like dirt stop them. They dig through the dirt and enter houses through little openings. Ants also work together on plants to protect small insects called aphids. The aphids produce honeydew, which is food the ants like. They protect their aphid “cows.”

Here is the most important truth to remember: The ant does what God created the ant to do – work. The ant is to work hard, work together and do the work to protect aphids. So, when you are given work to do, do it like the ant. Don’t be a lazy sluggard. God designed you for work and has given you talents to use in your work.

Here are some proverbs about work:

Proverbs 6:6 “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”

18:9 “Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.”

12:11 “Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.”

12:14 “From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good, and the work of a man’s hand comes back to him.”

16:3 “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

22:29 “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”

ASSIGNMENT: Stop a moment after you read each one and think about it. If you are one of my grandchildren, post a comment about one of the verses on my Blog on this article. You need to tell me which Proverb you picked and what the Proverb tells you about your work as a student or doing your chores at home.  If you post the comment, I will give you a reward. (Email messages or texts don’t count!)