The Little Ant

“Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise.” — Proverbs 6:6

Proverbs has a surprising teacher for us. A tiny, little ant!

“Go to the ant, you lazybones,” says Proverbs. “Watch what it does, and become wise.”

What can an ant teach us?

“It has no commander, no boss, no ruler telling it what to do,” Proverbs says. “Yet it gathers its food in the summer, and stores up its food at harvest time.”

Have you ever watched ants? They never seem to stop. They march along in long lines, carrying crumbs and leaves and seeds, often things much bigger than themselves. Nobody is standing over them telling them to work. They just get on with it. And because they work hard in the summer, they have food stored up for the winter.

Then Proverbs talks to the lazybones.

“How long will you lie there, you lazybones? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber.”

Imagine a boy called Tom. His mum asks him to tidy his room. “In a minute,” says Tom, and carries on playing. Then, “Just five more minutes.” Then, “I’ll do it after lunch.” By the evening, his room is still a mess, and now he can’t find his shoes for football practice in the morning!

A little bit of putting things off, and then a little bit more, adds up. That’s what Proverbs means.

The ant doesn’t need someone standing over it. It just does what needs doing, at the right time.

That doesn’t mean we should never rest. God made rest too, and He gave us a whole day of rest each week. But it means that when there’s work to be done, schoolwork or chores or helping at home, we can do it well, and not put it off.

Paul wrote, “Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men” (Colossians 3:23). When you work hard, even at little jobs, you’re doing it for God.

Read it in your Bible: Proverbs 6:6–11

Dear God, thank you for the little ant. Please help me not to be lazy, but to work hard and do what needs doing, even when no one is telling me to. Help me to do everything for you. Amen.