Jump Start # 1490

Proverbs 30:25 “The ants are not a strong people, but they prepare food in the summer.”

  We don’t think about ants very much. About the only time we give them some thought is when we see them in our house or they are crashing a picnic. Here in this section of Proverbs, the ants head the list of things that are small on the earth but are exceedingly wise. Earlier in Proverbs, in the sixth chapter, ants are used as an illustration for the lazy person to learn some things. Ants have no pecking order, yet they seem to work together and work hard. One doesn’t find a lazy ant. Ants seem to always be on the move. I’ve never devoted much time to ant-ology (if there is such a thing) and I don’t know many different kinds other than the dreaded fire ant, and the red ant, but God saw the wisdom in reminding us of that tiny little creature.

It’s amazing that God uses something so small to teach his people. Ants are part of God’s creation. I suppose they got on the ark with the rest of God’s creation. This tells us first of all, that if we open our eyes and turn on our spiritual radar, we can just about see a lesson anywhere. Thinking spiritually and making applications are the key. There are lessons all about us. There are lesson not just coming from the pulpit on Sunday morning. The person who is always looking and always thinking spiritually, will find himself growing and growing in faith. Who would have thought that a little, bitty ant could teach us big folks something?

These tiny little ants, that most would think are near the bottom of the intelligence chain have got something that most of us smart ones can’t figure out. And that is how to do what you need to do without a boss. Ants don’t have bosses. Ants don’t have presidents. Ants don’t hold elections. There is no such thing as a “queen” ant as there are among the bees. You don’t see ants running fast, trying to be first in line. They march in single file. You don’t see ants fighting each other. When there is something larger than one ant can pick up, you’ll see two or three ants working together. They seem to have an amazing team effort. That’s hard for us adults. Everyone wants to be the quarterback. There isn’t a long line of folks wanting to be the waterboy. We hang our plaques on the wall so everyone can see what we have accomplished. We give awards, trophies and have banquets for the best among us. We push, shove and race our way to the front of the line. Those ants seem to get along better than we do. Most work places would fall apart if there wasn’t levels of organization, supervisors and managers who must tell others what to do. Ants aren’t that way. Ants remind us, especially in the church, that we are all the same.

Here’s another thing, most folks don’t think too highly of ants. We step on them. We blast them with bug spray. We aren’t too kind to ants. I have never known anyone who had a pet ant. Some had those glass cases where they could watch ants dig their tunnels, but that’s about it. A visit to the local pet store and you’ll find food for all kinds of animals. I doubt you’ll ever find ant food. You don’t find leashes to take an ant for a walk. I tend to doubt that ants have much self esteem in them, but if they did, these things don’t seem to bother them. They just go on doing what ants do. Now, we on the other had, get all bummed out when we are ignored, not included or not part of the inner circle. We like pecking orders as long as we are near the top somewhere. We worry what others think about us. When someone is whispering near us, that gets our mind racing. We wonder if they are talking about us. That’s just the way we tend to be. I don’t think ants get jealous of other ants. But we sure can be jealous of one another. If you compliment one guy, but not another, then he’s all upset. Many kids sports have now gone to not keeping score. No one wins and no one loses. This is done to keep everyone happy. Ants don’t have to do that. Maybe we can learn something from ants.

God made ants. I’m not sure why. It seems to me that there are some things He could have not made like skunks, mosquitoes, and snakes, especially snakes. All of them have a place and a role in His creation. While I may never understand some of those things and I may think life would be so much better without them, God didn’t. This world isn’t about me. The universe doesn’t rotate around me. There are things that others need, that I may not. There are things that I do not understand, yet that does not mean they are not helpful, necessary, nor good. If there was a catalog for things to order for this world, I probably would have left the ants out. But they seem to pick up the crumbs that I drop. They seem to be nature’s trash men. They serve a function. More than that, our God made them. That’s enough right there.

One final thought about ants, they remind us how blessed we are. Jesus didn’t die for ants. He died for you and me. Ants don’t sin. We do. We need Jesus. God made Heaven for us, not ants. We have a living soul, ants don’t. The Bible’s attention is upon us. We ought to be thankful that God cares so much about us. He loves us. He wants us in Heaven.

Ants aren’t a strong people, but they know how to prepare for what’s coming. In some ways, ants are smarter than some of us. We could learn something from God’s creation.

Roger