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.”
Ants are thrifty creatures.
They don’t fritter and waste their summer days in some off hand way, instead, they work diligently, storing food for the rainy and wintery days ahead.
We Christians should learn this lesson of preservation…
…spending money and time wisely in preparation for rainy days of recession, inflation, ill health, and old age.
We should also spend our money and time wisely in order to be able to give more to the church—and in doing so—we are giving to the needs of others who don’t even have anything to fritter and waste away.
Did you know that the money that you put in the offering plate on Sundays reaches over 167 countries around the world for Jesus Christ?…
…And that the United Methodist Church is the 86th highest investor in the country?
And the United Methodist Church will not invest your money in any company which promotes tobacco, alcohol or pornography!
Now that is a great witness!!!
What better way to make big business sit up and take notice?
The money we give to the church effects the world on a local level as well as a worldwide level!!!
I believe that the money you and I give to the church is one of the only things stopping this world from completely falling to pieces!!!
One of my best friends is a member of a very devoted Christian family that I knew as I was growing up.
Everyone knew that these people were multi-millionaires, because my friend’s father owned a large company in the city, but you never would have known it by looking at them!
Their house was even smaller than the one I grew up in, and they did not wear expensive clothes or drive the most expensive cars.
Instead, they spent their money wisely…
….more than tithing to the church…
….giving countless dollars to various mission projects…
…and sponsoring evangelists to come and speak to inner city groups.
Our Lord only knows how many souls have been saved…
…how much better off the community and the rest of the world is…
….because one family has learned a lesson from the ants!
This is what Jesus is referring to when He says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there you’re heart will be also.”
Where are our hearts?
Satan just loves to see Christians wasting money on some unneeded new toy…
…on clothes that will hang in a closet never worn…
…or on anything that is just an ornament---and by no means and necessity!
Let’s see…another lesson we are supposed to learn from the ants is participation.
Ants seem to have no problem participating in tasks which need to be done.
As Christian stewards, the Bible calls us to be fellow workers together with God.
But we often fail to cooperate in accomplishing God’s work…
…instead, we often sit with folded hands and engage in criticisms wile others do the job…
….or even worse…
…as the job never gets done.
God has equipped each of us saints with different gifts and talents in order for the work of His kingdom to be accomplished.
My family and I have been privy to seeing saints here using their talents as many Parkview church members have given countless hours to getting ready for the fall and spring bar-b-q’s….
….and of course last year we had a successful pumpkin patch, bizarre and fall festival…
….not to mention this summer’s fantastic Vacation Bible School where many lives were perhaps changed for eternity!
God’s love should compel all people who have become his children through faith in Jesus Christ to work together with Him in unity, to participate in the greatest of all endeavors---the increase of the kingdom of God---the saving of souls!
2nd Corinthians 5:15 tells us that “those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”
Another lesson that Christians should learn from the ants is perseverance.
I mourn about a time when my faith was shattered, and I gave up.
It was the most miserable time in my life…it was also the biggest waste of time!
It cuts me to the bone when I think of the people I didn’t witness to during that time…
….of the opportunities lost…
…of my failure to represent Christ in the correct manner.
The Bible tells us that when we do this we are again crucifying Christ!
Giving up is never the answer.
It will always be regretted…and if it is not corrected through repentance…
….it could even bring a time of weeping and gnashing of teeth---as our souls cry out in utter darkness---mourning “what could have been.”
Yes, Christians are called to perseverance, and ants are good examples of this trait.
When their homes and possessions are completely destroyed, the ants begin to rebuild immediately.
They persevere.
How many unfinished projects lie by the wayside because the devil sent trouble, trials, and temptations our way?
How many new converts never make it past first base because they give up as soon as the first problem comes their way?
We are Christians…
…we have the all-powerful God…
…Hang in there….
…we need not despair!
We must persevere, whether our problems are personal in nature, or involve the cause of Christ because the Christian’s greatest hope lies beyond this life, and the world needs us…
… “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” Jesus Christ promises us in Revelation Chapter 2.
My dear friends, the Bible teaches many lessons from nature and God’s creation….
…on how to perform, preserve, participate, and persevere.
The Christian steward can learn some valuable lessons from the ants.
“Go to the ant thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”
