Jump Start # 1615

Proverbs 6:6-9 “Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe 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. How long will you lie down, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?”

  Yesterday in our Jump Start, we discussed how a young person can keep their ways pure. We talked about going to college. Some things never change. I remember Sunday mornings in the dorm. I would get up and get ready to go to worship. The bathroom was full of guys throwing up from being drunk. Some of the greatest testimonials were spoken in that stench and filth. I heard some promise that they’d never drink again. I heard sound resolutions of reform and change. It was a sorry sight. It was a smell. Most of them forget their promises by the following weekend. Drunk again. Sick again. Some never seemed to learn.

Our verse today is addressed to the lazy guy, specifically, the sluggard. He is the subject of one of the minor themes in Proverbs. He gets a lot of verses. God isn’t pleased with him. He doesn’t get far because that takes ambition, plans and motivation. He’s too lazy for all of that.

I’ve noticed something through the years. The lazy guy tends to live in a messy house and often has a messy life. It doesn’t have to be that way, but he’s too lazy to make changes. He even recognizes the messes and often apologizes for them, but never does anything about them. He’s too lazy. So of all the animals, bugs and insects in God’s creation, the Lord chose the ant to be the role model for the lazy. The ant is so tiny that we don’t notice them unless we see a bunch of them. The wisdom from Heaven is to look down and notice God’s little ant. He has something going for him.

First, the ant doesn’t have someone over him telling him what to do. He has no chief, officer or ruler. There is no king of the ants. They all look pretty much the same. Some are red. Some are black. Some are called army ants. There are some called fire ants. But all in all, ants are pretty much ants. They don’t have someone on the bull horn calling out orders. They don’t have someone riding around in a truck to see if they got the work done. They are self motivated. There is a job to do and they do it. This is where our thoughts on college come in. Those who are self motivated will do well in school. They are driven. They have a plan. There is a goal in sight. Those that need someone to always tell them, will bomb. They will be in bed when they ought to be in class. They will not make it to worship on Sunday because no one told them to get up. Procrastination is the next door neighbor to lazy. One feeds off of the other. Find a lazy guy and he will surely find ways to put things off. This is death in college. For you first timers, you’ll quickly see that college isn’t high school. The assignments stack up quickly. Keep up or you are doomed. In college, there is no one to hold your hand to see if you are getting things done. The school has your money. If you flunk, you don’t get it back. They would be happy for you to spend six or seven years getting a four year degree. More money for the university. The ant knows that the fall is coming. He’s busy in the summer. He knows he must store up food or he won’t make it. The ant can be smarter than we are.

Putting things off isn’t just a college students problem. Many have this problem. They put off saving for retirement. They put off doing things that are uncomfortable. They put off going to the dentist. They put off and put off. A recent stat reported that the majority of Americans could not come up with $400 if there was an emergency. They simply don’t have it. If something happened, they would have to borrow the money. Not planning for the coming season. Not ant watching very much.

If you want to do well, in college, at work, in life, with God, get up and get at it. Don’t wait to be told. Don’t wait on others. Do what you ought to do. The ant has no boss but he is busy. There are things to be done in the ant world and he is not going to be caught unprepared.

Not only does the ant work without a boss, the ant seems aware of the times. He knows when it is summer. He knows that harvest is coming. He knows winter is too late to gather food. Some of us have no idea what time it is. We put off because we think that there is time. That gets us in trouble. The itty-bitty ant knows better than we do. He knows that if he is not busy now, he’ll pay for it later. In the winter, he may not make it through, if he does not store up during the summer.

Don’t we see lessons with that? Get busy now while you can. Winter is coming. We put off doing things because we are too busy doing other things. Winter comes and we miss out. We need to send a note, call someone, apologize to someone. Not now. Not today. Then, we hear that the person has passed away. Winter came. We missed it. There is an opportunity to invite someone to services. Not now. They move. We missed it. Winter came and we weren’t ready. College is a wonderful occasion to have Bible studies and talk to others about Jesus. Many are looking. Many are uncertain. The four years will fly by. Before you know it, you have graduated, winter came and you missed your opportunities.

Greater than all of this is the reminder that Jesus is coming. This is a promise. He will come. When He comes it is to gather up His disciples and take them to His Father. Some, like the foolish virgins, won’t be ready. They wanted to be there, but they missed it. Winter came. The door was shut and they were left on the outside.

I expect most lazy adults were once lazy kids. Unmotivated, no plans, no goals, no ambitions, just getting by and life passes them by. Some preachers are lazy. Shame on them. They do as little as they can. Some churches are lazy. They are doing as little as they can. No plans. No goals. No future thinking. Winter will come and they won’t be ready. Too often, an eldership dissolves and no one has been groomed to be the next elder. The church lags behind. A preacher moves and no thought was given about that. The church lags behind. Little planning. Little vision. Little hope. The church drifts along, doing the same, looking the same for generation after generation.

Observe the ant. That’s the answer. Get busy. Don’t let winter catch you. Don’t wait to be told.

Our verse ends with two questions. They are both addressed to the sluggard. How long will you lie down? When will you arise from your sleep? Great questions for the college student. Great question for a church. It’s time to get up and get at it. It’s time to get going. Summer will be over before you know it.

How long? When will you? Great questions that a sluggard ought to answer. Don’t need to ask those questions to an ant. While you are asking, the ant is busy. He knows the time. He knows what needs to be done. He doesn’t have to be told. Why is it that we have to tell Christians that they ought to come to worship? Why is it that we have to tell Christians that they ought to live holy? Why is it that we have to tell Christians that they need to forgive others? Don’t we know? The ant knows what he ought to do. Why can’t we?

We sure can learn a lot from those little creatures.

Roger