Proverbs 6:6-8 

⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! ⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

Helpful

Did you know that children can be very helpful to parents? Really? How? Are you curious? A humorous mother said, “Children help me practice patience, when they disobey or naughty!” Well, that’s a positive parenting outlook, right?

Some children are obedient. They know that obedience is beneficial also. Christ narrated in Matthew 21:28-31, ²⁸There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ²⁹“‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰“Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. ³¹“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered.

Does the Lord give similar command to each person? Commands that God gives are opportunity to bless the obedient. Pray for godly wisdom to realize such advantage of obeying him. When we obey God we come to know, if we genuinely believe him. Pretenders cannot obey God. We can only obey the Lord by faith. Obedience to the Lord is practical manifestation of the grace of God in our life.

Personally, do you spontaneously do what you were told to do? It is sad to say that there are still believers who are lazy and sluggard. Someone suggest that laziness is another reason of disobedience. Well, if it is biblical, it must be true! Being lazy, sluggish or sluggard is spiritual disease that infected many believers; and, that’s one reason the Lord instructed us to go and learn from the ant.

1.  Go

⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!

A person is sluggard because of many probable reasons. No excitement, no energy, no vision, no motivation, or simply, there’s no sense of zeal, no passion.

Interestingly, we are commanded to consider the ways of the ant and be wise; it implies that ants are wiser than the sluggard. To learn from a very small creature, that could be very insulting. It also implies that it is foolishness to be sluggard.

Anyhow, why should sluggards consider the ways of the ant and be wise?

How could the ways of ants be considered as wise? Ants are industrious, diligent, busy, productive and hardworking. They gather food during harvest; they prepare for rainy or snowy days when food is scarce. They diligently gather food while the weather is favorable for them. Ants gather food until the last minute of harvest.

As oppose to last minute rush, ants work diligently, industriously at harvest.

What readily comes to your mind when people tell you, “You are wise!”

Generally, we use the term wise to describe individuals who can articulately verbalize their ideas fluently. Students who achieve high grades in school are also considered to be wise. Biblically, the Hebrew term that was translated “wise” in English is properly interpreted also as “skillful, gifted or talented.” Meaning: Knowledge of a subject matter is applied in actual practicality.

Listen: When the Lord commands, he expects us to accomplish it in his way.  Instinctively, we don’t readily obey. Why? “I have no ability! I have no passion for it! It’s not my priority! And, it is hard!” And so, we disregard the Lord. That is very normal among believers. We ignore God because we assume that we are not prepared for the task. We can learn from Moses and obey the Lord diligently.

Tabernacle

The Lord commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle. He showed him the plan and explained the details of every part of the Tabernacle. It was not written, if Moses asked God for help. The Lord had already chosen individuals to help him.

The Lord says in Exodus 31:2-3, ²I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills.

The Tabernacle was built according to the plan that God had shown Moses in the mountain. God put words in his mouth, and Moses explained the details of the Tabernacle to the builders. The Lord himself gave wisdom to chosen Israelites who build the Tabernacle. The Spirit of wisdom is the Holy Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Spirit himself provides skill to perform and accomplish our mission purposes.

God designates particular task for each believers. Do you believe that?

Amazingly, ants are small creature but have skills to gather food at harvest.

2.  Gather

⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

The ant wisely gathers food at harvest. It has no commander, overseer or ruler. When it mentioned commander, overseer, ruler, what does that imply? The ants demonstrate that they do not need anyone to command them, no need to oversee them; they don’t need a ruler while gathering their food at harvest time.

Commander overseer or ruler is needed when one has no knowledge of what should be accomplished. And, ants diligently gather provision at harvest.

When it added that the ant gathers its food “at harvest,” the ant knows the proper time to accomplish its task, when to gather its food and when to stop.

Similarly, if we have wisdom from God, we are inspired to initiate and when our task is accomplished, it is when we stop. Someone revealed the secret of his success. “I don’t stop when I am tired; I stop when I completed my task.” “What if you are tired?” a listener asked. “I rest and then continue but I don’t stop.”

The ant is wise and skillful to gather food at harvest; it is also wise not to gather food after harvest time. But when the next harvest comes, the ant gathers its food again diligently. The ant perseveres to gather food as long as it is harvest.

To learn from the ant that gathers its food at harvest is godly command; it’s biblical directive and reminder for all believers, and not just to the lazy or sluggard individuals. How do you personalize what Christ Jesus had instructed in Luke 10:2?   ²The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 

The time of the second advent of Christ is coming nearer. The time allotted for us to participate in the harvest is almost over. Together, we have to diligently pray and ask the Lord of harvest to send workers into the harvest field. Everyone has been given a particular part in the harvest; pray that you may get involved.

Pray that you may discern which part of the harvest the Lord had designed for you to be involved with: you may pray diligently; you may give and support the work financially; or, you may personally go and harvest souls for the Lord.

It says in Matthew 16:26-27, ²⁶What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Be attentive. Anytime, anywhere, the Lord may present divine opportunity for you to share your personal testimony. If there are other people around us, it can possibly be a divine appointment to testify for Christ. Always pray to be filled and inspired by the Holy Spirit. He gives us wisdom how to witness effectively.

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