Get some Ants in your pants!

Some of you may not like what I am about to write. I pray you have a open mind!

Proverbs 6:6 - 11 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. How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.

You know we can go about our daily lives overlooking some very powerful lessons that can be learned in God's creation. I guess we need a little closer at the ants.

Proverbs 30: 24, 25 “There are four things which are little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise: The ants are a people not strong, Yet they prepare their food in the summer;”

Does anybody really want to be like an ant, have their prosperity and their wisdom? Think about it, they learn to build colonies and build cities. Living under the earth and have survived since the beginning of creation by doing the things that comes to them by instinct.

You know, it's nearly impossible to stop them. They are always in your lawn; at the picnic, and I don’t remember giving them an invitation. They are some of the most industrious creatures on this earth. Have you ever seen a lazy ant?

Unfortunately, there's a lot more couch potato Christians than “couch potato” ants. One thing that we all must realize is that God did not create us to just sit around and do nothing. We were created to work to build and. God set example for us when he created the earth and rested on the seventh.

One thing that we all must realize is that God did not create us to just sit around doing nothing. We were created to work, to build, to grow and to continually learn to work and build more. God set an example for us when he began the Bible by saying that he worked to create all things and then rested from his work on the seventh day. Work is the very character and nature of God.

Work is a blessing! What could we accomplish without putting forth some effort? It can even be said that most of us are known by the “work” we do. Some of you are secretaries; accountants; construction workers; electricians; students; homemakers; electronics technicians; computer repair people; programmers and so much more.

I don’t believe that God created man to retire and quit doing any work. There has to be something out there to replace your work. Some hobby, some charity work, or something that will peak your interest and give you a reason to keep on living. People who give up and just go home to rock on the front porch without a dream or a vision for their future are not living, just existing, and it won’t be long until the body is so out of shape that it will begin to fail to function as it should.

As Men of Action, we must prevent this from happening to our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s time to get a real life and realize that God isn’t finished with you yet. Serving the Lord in ministry is far more rewarding than going to the job but the bills must be paid. We just keep on doing what we have to do until God sees fit to change things.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goes."

That means that God expects us work, in every area of our lives, just as though we were working for him, because we are working for him. Everything we do reflects upon our Christian life.

An ant works because that’s what ants do. No one has to watch over him to make sure he is doing his job. He doesn’t have to punch a time clock because his work never ends. He doesn’t worry about how much he is being paid because he knows that all the other ants are doing their part too and that the needs of the colony will be met. Some of us humans are too busy chasing the dollar to give God the time and energy that he deserves from us.

If your boss on the job has to watch over you; if all you ever do is complain of the low wages; or bad working conditions, or you have a don’t care attitude about your company. That’s a terrible witness of the Love of God that is supposed to be in your heart. God expects integrity.

Again, viewing the ant colony, we can easily see that it takes hard work and strict discipline on the part of every ant to see that the colony thrives. The worker ants can’t go on strike because they don’t get paid more than the others. The queen ant can’t refuse to do her work, or the whole colony dies. It takes all of them working together to get the job done.

Teamwork is a necessary part of Men of Action towards our work for the Lord too. There are no unimportant people. I have never seen a colony of ants sitting in a motivational seminar in an attempt to get them to move. I don’t see an ant standing along the trail every few inches with a megaphone in his hand making the others keep moving. They just keep moving because they are self motivated by survival.

Have you ever tried to get a teenager to work when they don’t want to? Have you ever tried to make yourself get up and go take out the trash, rake the leaves or paint the house?
It’s been said that our problem is not so much a lack of motivation as it is the lack of a dream or vision. We can learn much from the ants if we would only take a close look at their habits.

We aren’t ants, I know. We don’t live just on the instincts of survival like they do. We are able to think and to reason and to change our lives and circumstances. The spare time we create, if it isn’t used for something productive, becomes a road block in our path to success because it tends to make us think that we can just sit down and do nothing but rest.

How many of you know that the more you rest, the more you need to rest; the more you sleep, the more you need to sleep; and the less you work, the less you want to work?

Proverbs 20:13, "Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread."

God calls those that love sleep, “sluggards”. I think that’s a pretty good description because there isn’t a more sluggish time of the day than when we first open our eyes in the morning.

Proverbs 19:15, "Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger."

Their whole life will lack for the things that they desire and need most. Financially, life would be a disaster. They can never satisfy their hunger for things of this earth and especially for the things of God because they aren’t willing to pay the price to have them.

Proverbs 10:4, "He becomes poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent makes rich."

They will ultimately live in poverty. Not only will they lack for financial wealth but, more importantly, they will lack of spiritual wealth. God will not honor those who refuse to seek after him and work to make their lives acceptable sacrifices to him.

Proverbs 18:9, "He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster."

This speaks of the fact that the lazy person eventually leads their own home into destruction. What man wants to keep a lazy wife or what wife wants to have to support a lazy husband? How about if your single and live alone. If it doesn’t get done than who does it? That marriage; that home is headed for destruction unless that one who is the sluggard wakes up and makes the determination to change.

Take a lesson from the ant and force ourselves to get moving, we shall eventually come out of that sluggish condition. Nothing creates a dream or gives energy like getting into action and making things happen. The sheer satisfaction of accomplishing something worthwhile is usually all it takes to cure the sluggard.

The hard part is that God won’t change you unless you want to be changed. God will not overstep control of your life. The decision and FIRST step must come from us. If we are determined to change, decide to change, and then take action to force ourselves to develop the right habits, then God will step in and help us to overcome our slothfulness.

Take a lesson from the ant. Observe their industrious nature. See how they plan for the future and never cease to work to see that the work is done. If we can fill ourselves with that kind of attitude, there is no limit to where God will take us.

So, ye Men Of Action, GET SOME ANTS IN YOUR PANTS and get moving!