"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wiser! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber."
Proverbs 6:6-11
This set of verses has always struck a chord with me because of it's simple but powerful message. In nature, animals are constantly working. The ants are working hard all summer to store enough food for the winter. Yet the ants have no one forcing them to work. They know that if they don't work to store food for the winter, they will not have any food for the winter and will most likely die.
These verses tell us to look around and take a lesson from the ants. Why are we constantly resting or sleeping? Why are we wasting our time watching TV or playing video games when we should be looking for a job or taking classes to improve our situation? We can accomplish so much more than what we are actually achieving today. I am constantly amazed at how many people suffer from a victim mentality. They actually believe in their bones that there isn't any possible way to get out of their current problems. They believe that it's always been this way and will always be this way because "fill in the blank". There's no way to get ahead so why try.
The Bible gives us some great advice here. Get out of bed and get to work. If there isn't a job available then start your own business. Find something that you can do and go do it. If you don't, then you are choosing to live in poverty and to have nothing. But even "nothing" in the USA is better than what 70% of the earth's population have. Do you have a shelter to live in? Do you have fresh, clean, running water to your shelter? Do you have electricity? Do you have enough food for at least one meal a day? If so, then you're living better than the majority of people on this planet. Let that sink in for a bit...
Your problems aren't nearly as bad as you thought they were. When we compare our situation with our neighbors or with the advertisement that we see on TV we are made to think that we are missing out on something or that we need to purchase some new gadget in order to complete our lives. It's a lie!! Nothing can fill that void of emptiness... not that new car... not that new TV... not a promotion at work... nothing... nothing, except Jesus, that is. That void is there because Jesus isn't there. We've chased after things that are spiritually worthless. We've spent lot's of money for items that are spiritually worthless. Money we could have used to get ourselves out of this mess we are in. What we need is a class on spiritual finances. A class that will teach us what items are worth purchasing and what items are not.
Please allow me to explain this for a minute. You see, I have had the opportunity to go on 7 short-term mission trips to Ecuador. I've worked with the Quichua Indians that live at the high elevations of Andes mountains and I've worked with the Ecuadorians of the lowlands. These groups of people work very hard to provide for their people. They pool their funds to be able to buy things for their village. One of the villages I worked at completed a project to bring water to their village by hand-digging a trench and hand-laying pipe for 30 kilometers across the mountainous rocky terrain. That's right - it was dug by hand with shovels and picks at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet. They work VERY hard for what little they have. BUT they have something that we do not have. They have happiness. It overflows from the people. They give of themselves like no one else I know. They will do anything they can to help out their fellow man.
There is so much work that needs to be done for God's kingdom! By getting up and getting to work, doing what God wants us to do, we may even find that God provides for us. He will meet all of our needs - not our wants - but our needs. The people of Ecuador have relied on God to provide for them for years. They know that he will meet our needs. By relying on God to provide, they have a very close relationship with Him. It shows in everything they do. This is what gives them the happiness that we hope to find - the happiness that we are longing for.
It's so simple... we find it through Jesus Christ... but we have to get out of bed first.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
Proverbs 6:6-11
This set of verses has always struck a chord with me because of it's simple but powerful message. In nature, animals are constantly working. The ants are working hard all summer to store enough food for the winter. Yet the ants have no one forcing them to work. They know that if they don't work to store food for the winter, they will not have any food for the winter and will most likely die.
These verses tell us to look around and take a lesson from the ants. Why are we constantly resting or sleeping? Why are we wasting our time watching TV or playing video games when we should be looking for a job or taking classes to improve our situation? We can accomplish so much more than what we are actually achieving today. I am constantly amazed at how many people suffer from a victim mentality. They actually believe in their bones that there isn't any possible way to get out of their current problems. They believe that it's always been this way and will always be this way because "fill in the blank". There's no way to get ahead so why try.
The Bible gives us some great advice here. Get out of bed and get to work. If there isn't a job available then start your own business. Find something that you can do and go do it. If you don't, then you are choosing to live in poverty and to have nothing. But even "nothing" in the USA is better than what 70% of the earth's population have. Do you have a shelter to live in? Do you have fresh, clean, running water to your shelter? Do you have electricity? Do you have enough food for at least one meal a day? If so, then you're living better than the majority of people on this planet. Let that sink in for a bit...
Your problems aren't nearly as bad as you thought they were. When we compare our situation with our neighbors or with the advertisement that we see on TV we are made to think that we are missing out on something or that we need to purchase some new gadget in order to complete our lives. It's a lie!! Nothing can fill that void of emptiness... not that new car... not that new TV... not a promotion at work... nothing... nothing, except Jesus, that is. That void is there because Jesus isn't there. We've chased after things that are spiritually worthless. We've spent lot's of money for items that are spiritually worthless. Money we could have used to get ourselves out of this mess we are in. What we need is a class on spiritual finances. A class that will teach us what items are worth purchasing and what items are not.
Please allow me to explain this for a minute. You see, I have had the opportunity to go on 7 short-term mission trips to Ecuador. I've worked with the Quichua Indians that live at the high elevations of Andes mountains and I've worked with the Ecuadorians of the lowlands. These groups of people work very hard to provide for their people. They pool their funds to be able to buy things for their village. One of the villages I worked at completed a project to bring water to their village by hand-digging a trench and hand-laying pipe for 30 kilometers across the mountainous rocky terrain. That's right - it was dug by hand with shovels and picks at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet. They work VERY hard for what little they have. BUT they have something that we do not have. They have happiness. It overflows from the people. They give of themselves like no one else I know. They will do anything they can to help out their fellow man.
There is so much work that needs to be done for God's kingdom! By getting up and getting to work, doing what God wants us to do, we may even find that God provides for us. He will meet all of our needs - not our wants - but our needs. The people of Ecuador have relied on God to provide for them for years. They know that he will meet our needs. By relying on God to provide, they have a very close relationship with Him. It shows in everything they do. This is what gives them the happiness that we hope to find - the happiness that we are longing for.
It's so simple... we find it through Jesus Christ... but we have to get out of bed first.
The Shepherd
Return to The Proverbs Challenge
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