Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”
Our Bible verse for today: “Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise … A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the arms to rest, and your poverty will come like a robber, your need, like a bandit.” Proverbs 6:1; 10-11 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Don’t be lazy or short-sighted.”
In Proverbs 6:6-11 Solomon once again exhorts his readers to be diligent and productive in life. It’s a theme that gets repeated numerous times in the Proverbs, but also in many other places in both the Old and New Testaments. God intends for us to work and to meet our own needs. He also intends for us to live modestly and to prepare for the future.
In this passage Solomon used the example of an ant. Ants are hard workers by nature and they store up for the future. We see that same work ethic among many species in the animal and insect kingdoms. Ants do it, so do squirrels, as do bears and beavers. Most humans also work hard to provide for themselves and their families and they attempt to be prepared for the future, but not all. Solomon actually addressed this portion of Proverbs 6 to someone he refers to as “Slacker”. He must have had in mind a lazy person who tries to get by with doing as little as possible.
We all know the type. In our entitlement society, with such a widespread and pervasive welfare mentality, there are literally millions of people living on taxpayer dollars because they supposedly cannot work, when in fact they could be. That’s not ok. In 2 Thessalonians 3:10 the Apostle Paul said that if a person can work but won’t then he should go hungry: “If a man will not work then he shall not eat.”
This isn’t to suggest that society shouldn’t have a series of safety nets to assist those who are down on their luck or who have suffered a health crisis they were unprepared for. Such safety nets should exist. But in our society it has gotten terribly out of control and is being badly abused. One point Solomon is making here, by using the example of the ant, is that as God’s people we are to be diligent hard workers who do what is needed to meet our own needs.
But the other part of the lesson involves long-range planning and preparation for the future. During productive times of plenty we need to store up for times in the future that might become lean and hard. In other words we need to save money, buy insurance policies, minimize debt, and take the actions now to prepare ourselves for what could happen later. The story of Joseph in the book of Genesis (41:25-40) provides an excellent Biblical example of this.
So the short and simple take-away from this is: Don’t be lazy and don’t be short-sighted. Do what you can to provide for yourself, and take steps to prepare for the future.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 