“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”
Proverbs 6:6-8
The book of Proverbs holds many life lessons and gives much wisdom for how Christians ought to live their daily lives. In the passage above, the writer is urging the reader to avoid falling into various traps.
Two traps that Christians can easily fall into are those of finances and time. As the verse says above, an ant has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it is self-disciplined enough to store up its summer provisions during times of harvest, for days ahead where food may not be as plentiful. The same advice can be true for Christians as well. Mastering finances requires self-discipline. This world has plenty of financial traps such as debt, overspending, elaborate vacations and houses, that can entrap a Christian. It can be easy to overspend when you’re comparing your life to the people around you. Yet, overspending can lead to unmanageable debt, poor investments, and pledges that you cannot keep. These traps are foolish, and you should do everything in your power to free yourself from a financial trap if you find yourself in one. Finances are not everything, but they can strain relationships and cause lifelong damaging effects.
A second trap Christians can become ensnared by is lack of self-discipline concerning our time. If we are not accountable with our time, it is easy to fall into a trap of laziness, which can have disastrous consequences. We must be hardworking like the ant and not sluggish in the way we spend our time.
What does your life look like today? Are you being wise like an ant and storing up in times of harvest, so that when the inevitable famine comes you are prepared? Or have you become lazy, and find yourself overspending and not taking adequate time to prepare for the hard times ahead? Learn from the wisdom of the Proverbs, and learn from the example of the ant. Though small, the ant is mighty and leaves much to be learned.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, give me wisdom in handling my time and finances. Help me to learn the self-discipline of the ant to change the lazy ways of my heart. With your help Father, I know I can become more disciplined and honor you in my finances and time.
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