Consider the Ant (10-2-11)

Proverbs 6:6 - "Go to the ant, O sluggard, consider her ways and be wise."

When we considered the ravens we saw that God does not want us to be anxious for anything because He will provide. Well this passage in Proverbs is connected. You'll remember that Jesus said in Matthew 6, "seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." These promises of God are conditional. As long as we are seeking for and working for the kingdom we can trust God to provide all our needs. But God will not provide for a sluggard. The Bible says in Proverbs 6:6-8 - "Go to the ant, O sluggard, consider her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest." In considering ants you can't help but notice that they are not afraid to work.
God wants us to work. That's one of the original tasks that He gave to Adam. I often hear people say that work is a part of the curse, based on Genesis 3:17-19 which says - "Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return." So some people say that after the curse Adam had to work for his food, so work is a part of the curse. But that's not true. If you look back at Genesis 2 before the curse, it says in verse 15 - "Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it." And also in chapter 1 verse 28 it says - "God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." God put man in the garden to work the ground, to cultivate it, and to be in charge of all the animals. That's work. We also know that during the millennial reign of Christ that we will be working for Him. We'll be ruling and reigning with Him for a thousand years. Work isn't a bad thing. It's something that mankind needs. There is a sense of purpose and fulfillment when we're working, and why not, God designed us to work for Him. We're told in Romans 12:11 that we're not to be lagging behind in diligence, but rather fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. God wants us to work for Him, and when we do we can rest assured that God will provide for us. Hebrews 6:10-12 says - "For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Proverbs 6:6 - "Go to the ant, O sluggard, consider her ways and be wise."