A person worse than an ant
[Proverbs 6:6-11]
What do you think of “laziness”? Do you really think laziness is a sin? Laziness is a sin because it is disobedience to God's commands. In particular, not using God-given talents and digging a hole in the ground and hiding his master's money” (Matt.25:18) is a sin of bring reproved by the Lord as “You wicked, lazy slave” (v. 26). Rather than the Ten Commandments, I share more sympathy with the article ‘Four major things are important to escape from laziness’ so I want to share some of the points (Internet):
(1) The first is the bottom experience.
People have a bottom of life that they think shouldn't be there anymore. Usually the beginning of change occurs when we feel that our real life is nearing the bottom of our own thinking. This often comes only after suffering serious misfortune, but we can experience it in advance. When we look at today from the future, life through death, or our lives through the eyes of others, the bottom is also moving. It is to make a decision, ‘I can’t live like this anymore!’
(2) The second is long view and big picture.
It's not about making plans for the year and tomorrow. It's about drawing the big picture of life in the long run. At this time, the big picture should be drawn on the canvas of the heart with the brush of talent and strength given to him. We often try to fight laziness. But when it comes to solving habits such as laziness, it requires a vertical approach. We have to find the reason and purpose of life from a higher point of view.
(3) The third is small actions.
To get out of our laziness, we have to set a good stepping stone to reach our vision or goal. No matter how much we think about it, we have to break up our goals and break them down until we are convinced that it is not too much and make small actions into small victories and build them up.
(4) The fourth is continuous self-check.
If the quality of self-check cannot be improved, efforts to escape from laziness will inevitably fail. We have to wind up the loosened heart just as we wind up the unwrapped spring of the wall clock every day. In order to do this, we need to secure time for self-examination based on our favorite positive habits and ritualize it. What do you think of this statement?
If we look at Proverbs 6:6, the Bible says: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” What does it mean? Are we humans worse than ants so that we have go to ants to learn? Today, I would like to receive some lessons from God under the title of “A person worse than an ant” based on Proverbs 6:6-11.
Who is worse than the ant? It is the sluggard (v. 6). So who is the sluggard? Looking at the Naver Dictionary, the sluggard is a person who is slow in action and has a temper or habit that hates to move or work’ (Naver Dictionary). In the original Hebrew, the sluggard is “a person who is habitually lazy and inactive, suggesting he has no discipline or initiative, as a moral failure (Swanson). But when we look at the Proverbs, “the sluggard” doesn't seem to mean just this. For example, Proverbs 15:19 says, “The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway”. The Bible contrasts "the sluggard" with "the upright". And in Proverbs 21:25-26, the Bible contrasts “the sluggard” who hates to work with the “the righteous”. Also, in Proverbs 19:15, the Bible describes “the laziness” as an “an idle man” or ‘a person playing in idleness’ (Walvoord). In view of this, I think that the sluggard is simply a habitually lazy person. And in addition to the meaning of a person who is inactive and has no discipline and has no plan, a moral failure, but also a person who isn’t honest in front of God or an unrighteous person. Therefore, the Bible Jeremiah 48:10 says, “Cursed be the one who does the LORD'S work negligently.” Proverbs 6:6 says that such the sluggard should go to the ant and observe it and gain wisdom. What is the reason? Why should the sluggard go to the ant and observe what it does and gain wisdom? Doesn't that in itself mean that the sluggard is more foolish than the ant? What wisdom should the sluggard learn from an ant? There are 2 things (Park):
First, the ant works diligently and cooperatively, voluntarily, even without a supervisor.
Look at Proverbs 6:7 – “Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler.” What comes to your mind when you think about the ant? I think of a group of ants walking vertically side by side. Also, I think of the ants walking in the group with something like food. Sometimes I look down at the ants moving in the group with my head down, I remember seeing some of the ants carrying something like food. I read an article on the Internet to learn about ants. And I have some interesting points about ants (Internet):
(1) The ants are said to be thoughtful to each other.
When we mainly think of “the ant”, we think of it as a queen ant and a worker ant, but there is a “patrolling ant”. In general, the ants are said to send out the patrolling ant to find food. After finding it, the patrolling ant is said to take an inexperienced companion and slowly go vertically (parallel) and lead it to the place where the newly discovered prey is. And it is said that the following ants gain knowledge thanks to the leader ant. It is said that both the guide ant and the ant following are very considerate enough to slow down the guide if the ant following it procrastinates, and move quickly again if the rear ant catches up again.
(2) The ants are said to help each other.
The ants' mutual help can be seen by looking at their communication. The ants are said to communicate with each other by means of pheromones (a chemical signal used to communicate between animals of the same species). The ant's chemical cues are much more advanced than other logging insects. And like other insects, the ants are said to smell as long, thin, and moveable antennae. It is said that the pair of antennae can convey information about the intensity or direction of the smell. Most of the ants live on the ground, so it is said to leave a path with pheromones on the surface so other ants can follow. It is said that among species that scout in groups, the patrolling ant who is scouting for food display traces from its prey to the anthill. Other ants follow this trail, and each time they return home with food, they are said to reinforce the odor path. When all the food is gone, the returning ant marks it, and the smell slowly disappears. This behavior is said to help the ants adapt to changes in their environment. For example, it is said that if the scent trail that leads to the prey is blocked by an obstacle, the ant behind the fence goes off the road and finds a new path. When the ant finds the new path, the ant returns and marks the shortcut with smell. It is said that as the ants flock to the good path, the smell of the shortcut increases and gradually finds the best path.
(3) The ants divide professional occupations according to their size.
Looking at the ants' food cultivation, most ants are omnivorous predators and deal with dead creatures. But there are other ants that have developed special nutritional methods. Such ants are called ‘scissor ants,’ and they are said to grow mushrooms only in their ant nest. They continue to collect leaves, bring them to their colonies, cut them into small pieces, and place them on mushroom farms. The largest ants are said to cut the stem, the smaller worker ants chew the leaves, and the smallest ants care for mushrooms.
Isn't it interesting that the ants work endlessly in cooperation with each other in a spirit of mutual aid? But what about the sluggard? Even if there is a supervisor, he doesn’t listen to the supervisor and waste time without working irresponsibly. Proverbs 19:24 says, “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, But will not even bring it back to his mouth.” Can you imagine that such sluggard gather to work? Will he work by helping each other? That is why the Bible tells the sluggard should go to the ant and observe what it does and gain wisdom. Therefore, the sluggard must go and observe the ant, that voluntarily cooperate with each other in mutual help, even without the supervising ant, and gain wisdom.
Second, the ant prepares ahead for the future.
Look at Proverbs 6:8 – “yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Do you know the Aesop’s fable “The ant and grasshopper”? According to that famous story, the grasshopper sang and mocked the ant which worked hard in the summer: ‘Hey ant, is something wrong with your head? Why are you preparing food in summer for winter?’ Despite such ridicule, the ant worked very hard for cold winters, even in hot summer days. However, the grasshopper didn’t work every day and only sang. As a result, he had no food to eat in the winter so he begged for food. When I read this fable story as a child, I was taught that I should be like the ant, not the grasshopper. I learned that I must live diligently like the ant, not lazy like the grasshopper. However, as I grew older when I thought about this story, not only that I learned the lesson of being diligent like the ant, but also being wise in preparing for the future. When we are young, who cares about the future and prepares for it? In Proverbs 6:8, the Bible urges people who are worse than the ant to go to the ant and learn the wisdom to prepare for the future. Even in Proverbs 30:25, the Bible introduces the ants as “they prepare their food in the summer”. Why do the ants prepare winter food ahead of time in summer? According to Dr. Park, summer is the harvest time in Palestine. So, at this time, the ants are said to collect food for winter (Park). In this way, the ants prepare their winter food in advance at the time of harvest, but the sluggard says, “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest” (Prov. 6:10). What does the Bible say when we sleep little more and slumber little more? Look at verse 11: “Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.” What does it mean? The inevitable poverty comes to the sluggard as a victim was overwhelmed by a robber (24:34) (MacArthur). So, in Proverbs 6:9, the Bible rebukes the sluggard: “How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?” And this is what Proverbs 21:25 says: “The desire of the sluggard puts him to death, For his hands refuse to work.” What does it mean? It means that the sluggard hates to work with his hand. Rather, he often makes problems. Look at 1 Timothy 5:11-13: “But refuse to put younger widows on the list, for when they feel sensual desires in disregard of Christ, they want to get married, thus incurring condemnation, because they have set aside their previous pledge. At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.” Rather, a lazy young widow goes from house to house, gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. However, the sluggard has a more serious problem. That’s the fact that the sluggard is wiser in his own eyes [(26:16) “The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can give a discreet answer”]. In Proverbs 3:7, which we have already meditated on, the Bible says, “Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” Therefore, the sluggard should not consider himself wise, but fear God and should turn away from the evil of laziness. And, like the ant, in the time of harvest, he must prepare diligently for the future.
The time we are living now is the time when the Second Coming of Jesus is imminent. Therefore, we must prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus. Like the ant, we must cooperate in a spirit of mutual support and diligently do the work the Lord will entrust to us. In particular, when there is much to be harvested, we should diligently cooperate with each other and strive to save souls. In doing so, we must prepare to greet Jesus, the Bridegroom, by preparing oil and lamps like the five wise virgins in Matthew 25. As a result, when we stand before the Lord, no one will ever be rebuked, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed” (Mt. 26:26). Rather, I hope and pray that we will be praised, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master” (v. 23).