Focus Chapters:
- Proverbs 5-7
Standout Verse(s):
Proverbs 6:6-11 NLT
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter.
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Observation (s):
- The ant is proactive in its preparation for winter. It gathers all the food it will need, for winter, during the summer.
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Though they have no prince
or governor or ruler to make them work,
they labor hard all summer,
gathering food for the winter. - Lazy persons idle during the summer period. They are then caught unprepared during the season of poverty and scarcity (winter).
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?
When will you wake up?
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber. - The ant’s proactiveness in preparing for the season of poverty, during the season of plenty, is considered wise.
Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.
Learn from their ways and become wise!
Application:
Growing up, I always heard the story of the ant who laboured throughout the summer in preparations for winter while the grasshopper sang and danced and mocked the ant. When winter came, the grasshopper was left unprepared and starving and had to seek out the ant for help.
Proverbs warns us against taking the grasshopper’s lazy and carefree approach to life. Laziness is a sure way to poverty and scarcity! Instead, we should model the proactive ant who understands the importance of preparing for the season of scarcity (winter) during the season of plenty (summer). The ant labours hard without someone over him telling him what to do and when to do it.
Decide today. Are you an ant or a grasshopper? Embrace the attitude of the proactively busy ant.
