Lessons From an Ant Hill

Good morning! I invite you to open your copy of God’s Word to the book of Proverbs

ILL: I want you to picture with me…it’s 2am…you hear a shreaking noise…it wakes you from your sleep

BUT…the noise is gone…

You sit there for a minute…you listen…nothing

So you lay back down…then it goes off again (BEEEEP)

Immediately you know the sound

Immediately you feel the dread

You cannot ignore it…because it will go on ALL night long

It’s the smoke detector alarm telling you…the battery needs to be changed

Why can’t those things go off during the day? Or evening?

Some of you overachievers have probably never heard the sound…because you schedule regular maintenance on them

And keep an endless supply of 9V batteries

But I’m guessing some of you are tracking with me here...

So…you get to your feet…you stumble into the hallway…

You’re waiting for another beep…and there it is

Only problem…which smoke detector is it?

It sounds like its coming from every angle

Finally through a careful process of elimination you figure it out

What do you do?

Common sense says…you go ahead and replace the batteries

But what does the 2am version of you say?

Rip that thing off the ceiling and throw it away!

No…I would never do that…

But here’s the thing…unless you change the battery…they will keep beeping ALL night long

To the garage it goes!

Now…we laugh about it…but many of us have been there

Here’s the problem…

That smoke detector is there for a reason

It is there to warn you when there is a fire

It is there to potentially save your life

Yet, we often put it off for a better or more convenient time

Here’s the danger with that way of thinking…

First…it could literally lead to catastrophe

Second…it can become a way of life

Always putting off what needs to be done now

Always delaying…never living with urgency…

But idly making your way through life

The Word of God has a Word for this problem…Sluggard

The Hebrew word for sluggard simply means…a lazy person

The slow kind of person

Who is always putting off today’s needs for tomorow

The sluggard is someone who is habitually lazy, idle, and inactive

Even to their own detriment

The book of Proverbs is continually making this comparison of wisdom/unrighteousness

The sluggard falls into the wrong side on this comparison

The issue isn’t that he doesn’t get enough done

His unwillingness to work reveals a heart that is resisting God’s design for his life

Simply put...laziness is a sin against God

And one that God takes seriously...

So…on this Labor Day…let’s look to God’s Word…and hear His warning to the Sluggard…and His wisdom for ALL of us…

READ: Proverbs 6:6–11

Proverbs 6:6–11 ESV

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise 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, and want like an armed man.

PRAY

Work is part of God’s design for our lives

When God created Adam, He placed him in the garden of Eden “to work it and keep it.” (Gen. 2:15)

In God’s design...work was for your good and His glory

So why doesn’t work always feel like it’s for our good?

Genesis 3 introduces the pain and frustration of work

As Adam and Eve’s sin led to God’s curse over the ground

Notice —> Work was not God's punishment for sin

Work was God's purpose for humanity before sin ever entered the world

The curse didn't create work —> the curse corrupted work and made it exponentially harder

Work is from God…and it is unto God!

Therefore…God cares about your work…and specifically…your work ethic

When we look to God’s Word on this matter…He has strong words for the “sluggard”

Proverbs 24:30–34 “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, 31 and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. 32 Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. 33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 34 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.”

A Profile of the Sluggard

The Sluggard Lacks Sense

He lives in the here and now…with no thought to the future

He sleeps, He tosses and turns in the bed…but will not rise up to take on his responsibilities

Listen…it’s not that the sluggard NEVER works

But..he tries to do so on his terms

He skips work

He’s habitually late

He’s always got excuses

He puts off his work on others

He starts projects, but doesn’t finish

In this text…the sluggard sowed the seed…but didn’t keep the vineyard

He didn’t attend to it

He didn’t care for it

He didn’t nurture it

And he would lose the harvest…

The Sluggard Wastes Their Potential

More than just the potential of a physical harvest…the sluggard wastes their God given potential

God has purpose for you in your work

To provide for your family

To build relationships and point others to Jesus

To bring God glory

But…the sluggard misses on ALL these points

What a shame…when God has created them with such potential

Listen…every one of us…bear the image of God

Every one of us…has purpose in God

In the words of the Apostle Paul…in everything we do…we should do it as unto the Lord

Don’t waste your God given potential…

The Sluggard WILL Suffer Want

What does Solomon say is the fruit of the sluggards way?

Poverty and want

The lesson is simple, heavy, and serious…idleness and laziness will leave you in want and at the mercy of others

Here’s the sad reality for the sluggard…they are content to live in this state

And it gets worse…they often pass this attitude to their children, leading to generational poverty

Listen parents…quick word for you…

Your kids are watching you and learning

Like little sponges they are soaking everything you do up

Your life will leave it’s mark on their life

You want kids who work hard…and live with purpose and intention?

Then you need to live that way before them

Yes, your words matter

BUT, it’s your life that leaves the biggest mark

And here’s a hard truth for all of us…

Most ALL of us have a sluggard somewhere deep within

A part of us that doesn’t want to get up and go to work

A part of us that want’s to find excuses to skip out on tasks

A part of us that want’s to put off what needs to be done today…to tomorrow

A part of us that wants to do things halfway so we can be done with it

That’s part of life in a broken world and in the human flesh

But…God has a word for us…Proverbs 6:6 “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”

How Can We Honor God in Our Work?

God Calls us To Learn from the small and seemingly unimportant Ant

What can we learn from the Ant?

1. Know Who You Are and Why You’re Here

Like the ant…you were created to work

Work is a gift from God

To bless you

To provide for you and your family

Work is an opportunity to be stewarded

It’s more than an opportunity to provide for your family

Work is an opportunity to bring honor and glory to God

You could say…it gives you a stage to display His goodness and excellencies to the onlooking world

Question to consider: What does the quality of your work communicate about your Savior…to the onlooking world?

Let me intrude a little bit…and get more personal…

What is your attitude about work? What’s your attitude…AT work?

God cares about your attitude

And calls us to give thanks in all circumstances

Are you truly thankful for your work?

Or are you disgruntled with work?

Some of you need to quit complaining and start giving thanks

The believer shouldn’t be known as a complainer or negative nelly

In Christ…your work can and should be a joy!

But it requires we see it God’s way

As a gift from God to be stewarded for His glory

And don’t miss this...ultimately...you work for God

Not for your boss...not for a paycheck

But for the glory of God

That subtle shift and thinking can transform HOW you see and do your work

You were created to work…so do it for the glory of God!

2. Take the Initiative

Proverbs 6:7–8 “Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”

Notice what Solomon observes about the ant

The ant doesn’t need a leader

It doesn’t need someone poking and proding

It doesn’t need a memo from the boss

It doesn’t need a staff meeting

It doesn’t even need an “Atta’ Boy”

The ant takes the initiative

Initiative sees a need…and meets the need

There are always needs all around us

What keeps us from doing what we can to meet needs?

Could it be the spirit of the sluggard that resides somewhere deep within?

Initiative sees the need…and does what it can to meet the need

Taking the initiative…also means to understand your purpose…and work to fulfill it

Taking the initiative means you don't have to be chased to do what you already know you're responsible to do

The sluggard isn’t ignorant of its expectations…

He’s just too lazy or complacent to take the initiative and fulfill his role

Taking the initiative…also means to anticipate your future needs…and work ahead

Which leads to the next point…

3. See the Big Picture and Work Ahead

Here’s the truth…you never know when you’ll come into need

But rest assured…life has it’s seasons of plenty and little

The wise recognize the reality of hardship and change and prepare ahead

What does that look like in our day, when we don’t depend on a physical harvest, which has literal seasons?

It looks like life in real time…

There are seasons of life…where we are blessed with abundance

And there are seasons when things get tight

The markets crash

Jobs are cut

Illnesses spring up out of nowhere and pull you from your work

Cars break down

Homes need repairs

And we could go on and on

Here’s the big point…life happens

Things change…situations change

And IF you are not prepared it WILL leave you in a crisis

Some of you don’t struggle with laziness in your work ethic…but maybe you wrestle with laziness in your future preparations

The call of wisdom here…go to the Ant and learn…BE WISE

Life happens…things change…

Work hard…think ahead...Prepare ahead…

And WHEN things change...and they will

Then…you won’t be left in crisis…in need…in want

Go to the Ant…learn it’s ways…and BE WISE

And let me give you one more lesson from the Ant before we wrap up…

4. Work Together…and For One Another

Yes, we occasionally see an ant working independently from others

But generally…ants work together and for the common good

The Queen laying thousands of eggs to grow and sustain the colony

The worker ants foraging for food, digging tunnels, cleaning the nest…feeding the young

The soldier ants…continually protecting the nest and colony from outside threats…US

They have different duties…with each being vital to the health and survival of the colony

They work together…and for one another

You weren’t created to live and work on your own little island

But, were created to live in dynamic relationship with one another

To work alongside one another

To support one another

To serve for ultimately…the same purpose

I think that’s ultimately a picture of the church here…which the Apostle Paul draws out in 1 Corinthians 12...as he teaches on the body of Christ and family of faith

Through faith in Jesus…God has uniquely gifted and placed each of us within this wonderful family of faith

You are here for a reason

God has a purpose for you here

Each of us are gifted differently and called to serve in different roles…but it’s for the same purpose

To build one another up…to reach our communities for Jesus…and to bring God glory

We are better together!

And we need one another!

As we close:

Why do we work?

How you answer that question will not only determine HOW you think about work...but it will shape how you do your work

Listen...God doesn’t just call us to work harder

God shows us what real work looks like...when He sent His Only Son Jesus Christ into this world...to accomplish the work the Father gave Him to do

Jesus is our ultimate example...

He lived with perfect obedience, perfect diligence, and perfect faithfulness

And through faith in Him, our sin and failures—including our failures in our work—are forgiven

We can be made right with God

We can have peace with God

We can recapture God’s good and awesome purposes for our lives...and our work

You were made for more!

Live and work...for the glory of God alone!

PRAY

INV: How is God calling you to respond today?

I can think of a couple of ways we should respond:

For some God is calling us to change the way we think about our work

Choose to give thanks for your work

And commit your work to Him today

Work for the glory of God alone!

For some...God is calling you to join this family of faith

If that’s you...I invite you to come and make that commitment

And lastly...for some...God is calling you to trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God loves you...He gave His Son for you

He calls you to put your trust and hope in Him alone

If you’re ready to do that...come meet me here at the front...I’d love to talk with you and pray with you as you make this important decision