Oh to be an ant: though they be little on earth, they are exceedingly wise.
Ants are great teachers, so we learn in Proverbs 6. But what could we possibly learn from ants? A lot: God always uses the seemingly foolish things to shame or challenge the wise.
6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!
7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work,
8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.
Character traits of ants
Ants are proactive; they don’t need managers, leaders, supervisors, or moms and dads to coerce them to work. They are self-motivated. Why? Ants are purpose driven. They are diligent workers with an inherent commitment to excellence.
Here are important lessons we can learn from ants:
- A – Assiduous: Ants have an innate industriousness. Their entire life, which can range up to 7 years, is spent working. Ants can lift 20 times their own body weight. Always on the move, the legs of ants are very strong enabling them to run very quickly.
- N – Neat, extremely organized planners: Ants plan for the future. They gather food, bring it back to the nest, and use it for daily meals and for winter storage. Likewise, we should be constantly prepared, in season and out of season.
- T – Team players: Ants work in teams to move extremely heavy things and capture prey. They work collectively towards a singular goal and can mobilize extra workers when an abundant food source is discovered or the colony is in need of defense.
- S – Sharing: As a species, much of the success of ants is due to task sharing and cooperation. The abdomen of the ant contains 2 stomachs: 1 for its own food and a second to be shared with other ants. If a worker ant finds a good food source, it leaves a scented trail so that other ants in the colony can locate the food.
From procrastination to success
Proverbs 6 urges us to wake up from our slumber.
Sleep is a metaphor for laziness—physical and spiritual. Lazy people are procrastinators—very quick to hit the snooze button:
9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?
10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Procrastination usually leads to failure and regret. Regret for not having worked harder…planned better…been more organized…taken initiative…
Instead of complaining about our circumstances, we need to hear from heaven regarding God’s plan and vision for our lives. We need to wake up and break free from our comfort zones. Without work, nothing will change.
So next time you feel small, irrelevant, or inadequate, consider the ant and be inspired!
Copyright © 2013 Uwana
Love this!
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Thanks! I really enjoyed writing it. I never knew ants were such fascinating creatures!
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I’ve watched them from time to time in spring and summer and they are really more intelligent than most give credit for.
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I’ll be sure to pay closer attention to their habits and behavior once winter passes. I guess they’re now enjoying the fruits of their labor during the summer and spring months 🙂
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Great read! Thank you!
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My pleasure. Thanks for stopping by. Bless!
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I love how it comes back to the bible. THAT IS AMZING!
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Thanks. Peace and Light!
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Pingback: An Ant’s World | CorineTan.com
Thanks for the visit and referral. Bless!
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Wow. Very informative and transformative highlight. Always knew one has to go and learn, but it more-or-less ended in mere thought and very minimal practice of the lesson and the underlying core points.
Again thanks for this piece
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Such an efficiently done post, a simple yet profound lesson.
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Why thank you! I enjoyed doing the research on ants that helped develop this post.
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This is FANTASTIC! I’m studying out “diligence” in Proverbs right now and your blogpost was an excellent source of information and inspiration. Thanks for breaking it down. | Shannon, NYC
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Oh great!
I’m super happy you were blessed by the visit.
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Pingback: Proverbs 6: The Amazing Habits of Ants | roymanoj
great …very inspiring…thanks…
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Thank you. Bless!
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🙂 I really like this lovely way to put it. Think I will remeber this for a while. And be more like an Ant!! :). Love it.
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Glad you enjoyed :).
Ants really are amazing creatures once you study them. Taught me not to discount anything or anyone based on their size. We should all be more like ants, lol.
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Wonderful piece. Thank you!
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I don’t know. . . my hubby calls me “Ant Susan”. He says it’s because the ants always leave their house with nothing but they always carry a lot every time they come home. He has that Asian way of always comparing people to animals or insects, and creating analogies. He cracks me up sometimes!
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Very inspiring and straight to the point. Thanks
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