"Lessons From The Ants"

Proverbs 6:6-11

“Lessons from the Ants”

By: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport news, VA

I’ve always kind of liked ants…except at picnics of course.

It’s sort of fun to watch them work and carry those heavy loads.

I liked ants until I moved down to Macon, Georgia…where they have nothing but those red fire ants that bite and sting!

One night, not too long after Jeanne and I first met…we were sitting in her front yard talking about…well, the meaning of life and small topics such as that…

…When I felt some biting going on around my left ankle.

I wasn’t completely conscious of what was going on around me—because I was so engrossed in our conversation—so in the back of my mind I thought there were mosquitoes down there….

…so I kept swatting at them.

Eventually, the biting got so bad that I looked down to see that my foot was resting right on top of a red fire ant hill….and they were having quite a meal.

You see, as most of you know, I grew up in Syracuse New York…which has a very cold climate…way too cold for fire ants to dwell.

In Syracuse, from October to May we are engaged in the constant motion of shoveling snow, dressing ourselves in layers and layers of clothes, and praying for spring and summer.

My dad used to say… “the summers are great in Syracuse…all two weeks of ‘em!”

It’s not unusual to have a snowstorm around Mother’s Day in May, and to go trick or treating in boots and heavy coats.

The summer before I moved down to Macon, my family and I watched a beautiful fireworks display on the 4th of July as we shivered under blankets and coats…it dropped to 34 degrees that evening.

Suffice it to say, we had no red fire ants in Syracuse…just the nice busy black ones that don’t bite.

I was relieved when I moved up here….for I have not seen a fire ant in Newport News.

It’s too cold—once you cross a certain line for fire ants.

As a matter of fact, I had never seen nor heard of a fire ant until I moved down to Georgia…and they are busy little things too that’s for sure…

…but I must admit, I don’t quite admire them as much as I do the nice little black ones.

But, as the Scripture indicates, we Christians have much to learn from the ways of ants…

…as a matter of fact the Bible teaches many lessons from nature and God’s creation.

So, let’s see what valuable lessons we can learn from the ants.

For one thing, ants teach performance.

Ants are always busy, never lazy, and they never have to make excuses.

Our failure to learn this lesson can be seen in our slackness toward doing God’s work…

…as we busy ourselves in front of the television set, video games, and the internet.

Oh, the devil loves to divert our attention away from God’s work….

…and before we know it—the time is gone, the opportunity is lost, and nothing of God’s will has been accomplished!

Christian Stewards,

It doesn’t take much effort to look around us, and understand the deep needs of people, people who are hurting, people who are hungry, people who are angry, people who are unhappy, people who are hooked on drugs, and realize that these people need the Lord!!!

And therefore, they need us, for we are Christ’s body on this earth…

…we are His representatives!

When the world looks to us…they are looking for Christ.

Do they see a lazy and slack Christ who spends His time flipping channels in front of the boob-tube, and making excuses for not getting involved, not helping out, not reaching out?

No excuse is acceptable for Christians to refrain from working for God.

Now, I don’t think God wants us to run ragged until we burn out…

…Jesus spent plenty of time resting, eating, and sleeping in order to build up His strength, but that was only after or before He had been busy working.

Jesus never made excuses…He had no reason for them.

The bible teaches that God’s fields are ready for harvest, but the workers are few.

What a shame…

…so many people are ripe to hear the good news of Christ, make a decision for Him…repent…be born again and allow God to change their lives…

…and thus save them from eternal hell and make this world a better place for us all…

…and so many of us are too busy making excuses.

Priorities are key….

…God’s fields are ready for harvest, and we must labor in them today!!!

Another lesson we are to learn from the ants is preservation.

Proverbs 30:25 tells us that “Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.”