Adam and the Madam Ant

"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise!" - (Proverbs 6:6, NLT).

Adam Ant and his wife, Madam Ant, were busily sorting and stacking their storehouse of corn, kernel by kernel, one winter. Along came a grasshopper.


"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Ant," the grasshopper said. He would have doffed his hat, but of course grasshoppers don't wear hats. "I noticed you working so hard this fine winter day, and I wondered if you might be able to spare a few kernels of corn." The grasshopper cleared his throat and added, "I would be most grateful, for I am simply starving."


Adam and Madam Ant, who had kept working while the grasshopper addressed them, stopped working for a moment.


"Why do you not have a storehouse of corn like ours?" Adam asked.


The grasshopper smiled sheepishly. "Well, you see, I spend my summers singing beautifully in the grass. I had no time to work."


Adam and Madam Ant nodded knowingly.


"I see," said Adam. "If you spend your summers singing, you should not expect to spend your winters eating." And with that, Adam and Madam Ant returned to their work, leaving the grasshopper to regret his laziness.


That story, based on a famous fable, illustrates the fact that work is better than laziness. A willingness to work is a virtue, and a person who is not willing to work should not be admired, but pitied or despised. As the Bible says, "Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, 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? I want you to learn this lesson:


A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest--and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber" (Proverbs 6:6-11, NLT).


The person who works hard--whether it's at school, at home, or in a job--is worthy of respect and admiration, because the Bible makes it clear that working well and working hard is right and good.


Review: Compare the following translations of Proverbs 6:6; which version do you like best, and why?


"Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise" (KJV)


"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy fellow. Learn from their ways and be wise" (TLB)


"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise!" (NLT).


Reflect: Who is the hardest working person you know? Do you admire him or her? If so, why? If not, why not? Which do you resemble most (in your work habits): an ant, a grasshopper, a snail, or a dead skunk in the middle of the road? Why?


Reinforce: Keep your eyes open today for someone who is working hard, and take a moment to thank that person for his or her example of hard work.


Remember: "Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry" (Proverbs 19:15, NIV).