Diligence and Discipline

Focus: God directs us to the ant, teaching us that a truly fruitful and fulfilling life is built on disciplined actions that are consistent, future-focused, selfless, and centered on glorifying Him.

Function: That the hearer would see the small, insignificant, daily actions of their life is the very means by which a disciplined life is formed.

Malady: We think that choosing immediate pleasure over enduring discipline will bring us fulfillment, and yet it leaves us feeling empty.

Means: Jesus chose discipline over immediate pleasure, choosing the cross to reap the ultimate reward.

Introduction

(Center Camera) Good morning, Woodbury Lutheran! Those of you here in person at our Valley Creek Campus. Those tuning in from our Oak Hill and Wakota Ridge campuses. Those of you watching online. Welcome. My name is Daniel Langewisch. I serve as the Campus Pastor here at our Valley Creek campus. Today, we are in the second week of our sermon series Respect The Beard. Beards were a sign of wisdom in biblical times, and in these series, we are looking at the wisdom that is found in the book of Proverbs and seeking . And I have to laugh at how perfectly last week’s message is setting us up for this week, because if you were here with us last week, what was the virtue that we explored? Humility. That true wisdom begins with humility. Humility before others. Humility before God. Let me say this. The greatest potential stumbling block between you and the wisdom God wants to bring you in this series is pride. If you walk away from this series thinking, “Meh. God didn’t do much in me through that series.” Could it be you never got past step 1? Could it be God is still working on shattering your pride? Because, hear this, wisdom can only be received through a posture of humility. A posture of, “You are God. I am not.” A posture of, “Your ways are above my ways.” Or a more blunt way of saying it, “God, You are wiser than me.” That’s not a popular position to take in our world, is it? But unless you take that posture, you will never receive the wisdom that Proverbs has to offer. You won’t. It is necessary, especially with the virtue we are exploring today, because God is going to use one of the the smallest, most insignificant creatures as an instrument for wisdom, and specifically, the wisdom found in living a diligent and discipline life.

Learning From The Ant

Now, I warned you that humility is required, right? Cause we are diving right in. Will you read verse 6 with me?

Proverbs 6:6 NLT

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise!

(Center Camera) I can’t help but feel like this is something my fourth grade football coach, Coach Shwartz, would have yelled at me. “Come on, Daniel! Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones!” Shout out, Coach Shwartz. But man, talk about humbling! “You lazybones.” What a great word. Many translations use the word “sluggard.” But regardless, this is what you don’t want to be. This is the opposite of wise. Yet, this word “lazybones” isn’t actually the most humbling part of this verse. In a world that says you can only learn from those with more power, status, or accomplishments than you, Proverbs says, “You know who you need to learn from? A tiny, significant little critter known as an ant. That their is wisdom that an ant possesses that you don’t.” And that’s exactly what we’re going to do—we’re going to pause, humble ourselves, and take a closer look at the ant. Because in this tiny, unassuming creature, we’ll uncover a profound wisdom—one that has the power to transform to realign our work, reshape our priorities, and even redefine how we grow in our faith. Let’s jump in.

Internally vs Outwardly Motivated

The first things we learn from the ant is that a disciplined person is internally motivated by an external cause. It starts with verses 7 and 8.

Proverbs 6:7–8 NLT

Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

Now notice, “they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work.” There is no external authority forcing the ants to go out and work. No, they have the discipline that flows out of being internally motivated. But the key is where that internal motivation comes from. They aren’t just “naturally more disciplined.” No, their internal motivation comes from meeting the needs of their community. An outward cause.

Now contrast that with what we see in our culture. Most people today are outwardly motivated by an internal cause. Their outward pursuits—such as money, status, and power—are driven by an inward desire for validation, security, and belonging. These external achievements become tools to fill internal voids. To find their identity.

Now do you see why it is so critical when we talk about discovering your identity in Jesus? When you are responsible for crafting your own identity, your entire life has to be be working for the benefit of yourself. But when you are no longer responsible for building your identity and you receive the identity that Jesus gives you - one that is unconditional and never changing - suddenly, your entire life has been freed to work for the benefit of others. Learn from the ants. Discipline comes when you are internally motivated to meet the needs of others.

Future Oriented

The second thing we see is that a disciplined person is future oriented. Let’s go back to verse 8,

Proverbs 6:8 NLT

they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

Now ants absolutely labor hard. I was doing some research and ants are capable of lifting 10-50 times their body weight. That would be like me going and lifting up a school bus. These critters are beasts. They work incredibly hard, but they don’t just work for present satisfaction. No, they labor hard in the summer, because they know winter is coming. What would happen if the ant said, “You know, I think I am going to just chill the summer. Enjoy myself”? It might have a great summer, but what happens when winter comes? The ant would die. The ant is disciplined today because it knows it will need the fruit of its discipline in a day to come. The ant is future oriented with it lives.

Are you? We live in a world today that glorifies living for present pleasure over future reward. Why is dieting so hard? We want present pleasure of food over the future reward of feeling good and healthy. Why are so many people struggling with credit card debt? It is the present pleasure of getting that new thing over the future reward of financial freedom. But I think this also applies to our life of following Jesus as well. What is the future reward of faith in Jesus? The greatest thing you can imagine. Eternal life. Free from suffering. Fully redeemed. The world restored to the way it was meant to be. There is no greater reward than what is found in faith in Jesus Christ, and if that’s true, then shouldn’t the priorities of our life reflect that reality? Belief in Jesus immediately puts the spiritual health of yourself, your family, your friends - of those around you to the top of your priority. How could it not be? What could possible be more important and have a greater reward than that?

And yet, we so often do, don’t we? You have a busy day with lots of tasks to get done and what’s the first thing you cut? Your devotion time with the Lord. You have a busy weekend - lots of important responsibilities to get you and the family to - and what’s the easiest thing to remove? Worship on Sunday. In all of these instances, we are living for present convenience and priorities instead of living for the most important future reality that there is. Are your priorities in life right now storing up treasures on Earth as Jesus says, or treasures in heaven? Learn from the ants.

Small Acts of Faithfulness

And the final lesson we learn from the ant is that a disciplined person recognizes the power of small acts of faithfulness. Our section in Proverbs concludes by saying,

Proverbs 6:9–11 NLT

But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Now there a bunch of practical implications from these verses, but I want to focus on one in particular and that is spiritual laziness. Notice how a person gets to the place of poverty and scarcity in there life. Was it from one big decision? A mistake so great they could never recover from? Oh no. What does it say? “A little extra sleep. A little more slumber. A little folding of the hands to rest.” Little actions. Little decisions day after day that in the moment seem harmless, but compounded over time, lead to a poverty that comes as a surprise - like a bandit.

Spiritual poverty rarely comes in an instant. It’s not usually one big mistake that destroys your faith. No, Satan is much sneakier than that. He doesn’t start with outright rejection of God. He starts with small compromises. I’m too busy to spend time with the Lord today, but it’s just one day. It’s not a big deal. That little sin in my life, I know it goes against God, but I’ll be forgiven anyway. It’s no big deal. I don’t really need to get plugged in at my church with other believers. I’m good with just me and Jesus. It’s no big deal. All of these little decisions. Little compromises, that individually, do any of them destroy you? Absolutely not. But what Satan wants to do is cultivate spiritual laziness in you, where you make little compromise after little compromise, until all of a sudden, spiritual poverty pounces on you like a bandit. C.S. Lewis echoes this in Screwtape Letters, a fictional book about a senior demon Screwtape teaching his nephew demon Wormwood how to attack human beings. And in it Screwtape says, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

Life Connected to the Vine

What we need is spiritual discipline, to fight against the gradual spiritual destruction that satan wants to bring, and yet this spiritual discipline is much deeper than just “complete this reading plan” or “pray this many times.” No it’s much simpler and yet deeper than that. And it’s found in this analogy that Jesus uses in John 15.

John 15:5 NLT

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Now this verse is filled with both grace and truth. The grace in this is, “Remain.” You don’t have to connect yourself to the vine. We don’t worship a god that says, “Get your act together. Get disciplined. And then you can receive my love and experience the transformation I offer.” No, you are already there. Jesus’ work on the cross was enough. He grafted you in. You are connected to Him apart from anything you ever did. And it’s from that reality that there is this challenge of, “Remain.” Think about that word. It isn’t glamorous. It isn’t conquer or achieve or advance. No, it’s remain. It’s invest daily. It’s endure faithfully. The wise person is one who realizes that true transformation doesn’t come from one grand act of faith, but from hundreds of daily acts of obedience. Your time in the Word matters. Your whispered prayers matter. Your unseen acts of service matter. They may seem small or insignificant in the moment, but like the ant gathering food, they build up over time, leading to a profound transformation.

So as you step into this year, above all your goals and aspirations, let this rise above them all: “How can I remain with Jesus? How can I abide in my Savior? How can I walk daily with my King?” For when you remain, He will transform you. Day by day, step by step, He will shape you into His likeness. Remain. And watch what God will do.