Proverbs 20:4 Not the Ant
Solomon brings us back to the sluggard. His actions are NOT those of the ant! He takes no thought for the future so he has nothing when it is needed.
Solomon has spent a lot of time talking about the “sluggard.” I wonder if he had a specific one in mind or if he ran across this problem often. Most of the time when Solomon speaks of the sluggard it is a proverb out of place with its neighbors. This one fits that same pattern.
I bring up the ant because Solomon tells the sluggard to go and study the ant. How he is always busy. Always preparing for the future. Is not caught without in the hard times. And does not rest when there is work to be done.
We have seen some lazy acts from the “sluggard”, most notably the one where he can’t even be bothered to bring his full hand to his mouth. The sluggard we see today doesn’t give me that same feeling. The first was MASSIVLY lazy. This one seems like his main problem is that he doesn’t think through the consequences of his actions. He may be ‘busy’ doing other thing and runs out of time to plow his fields. He may think that plowing is ‘beneath’ him. Maybe he doesn’t have the right equipment and is too proud to borrow or too lazy to work for it.
Today I could have been this ‘sluggard’ in regards to sitting down with my bible. But I was NOT just sitting and passing the time. I was working on everyone else’s tasks that they gave me. Paying taxes, updating spreadsheets, entering data into tracking software, servicing my car, bank errands, and even grocery shopping. It has been a BUSY day. I could have done like the ‘sluggard’ and skipped our time together but I didn’t. It is past my bedtime but God counts MORE to me than ANY of the other tasks I’ve done today. I wish I had put our time first but the demands came rolling in and I got swept up in them.
IF I had gone to bed (again) without spending time in God’s word I would feel the effects. Guilt, longing, shame, and laziness. Like the sluggard, I had a choice to make. ‘Plow’ now or go hungry later on.
Jesus talks about this kind of life when giving His parable on the sower and the seed. There were four types of ground mentioned. The one I’m thinking about is the one where the cares of this world grow up and choke out the sprouting seeds of faith. Everything else takes precedence over spending time with God. “I’m too busy. Maybe later” is the theme song of that life. And I have to admit that it has been my theme song at times. Unlike the sluggard though, I listened to the warnings of ‘going hungry’ for the Lord and came back. I didn’t have to starve first, just get mighty hungry!
God uses that ‘hunger’ to bring us closer to Him. It comes from having experienced His presence and gone away or seen His hand on the lives of others and wanting it in your life too. Whatever it takes, God calls to the ‘table’ with Him.
As you feed your body each morning, it is just as important to feed your spirit. Develop your hunger. With my body I taste a variety of foods and develop a longing for the ‘good ones’ again. With the word, when I find nuggets from the Holy Spirit, I want to come back and find more! I only find these when I dive in and look, when I allow Him to lead me, and when I am truly open and waiting. Dig in! There is plenty to go around!!!
Father God, I’m hungry Father; really I am. Make me even more hungry to dig into Your word and into relationship time with You. I want to be closer to You EVERY day! Help me ALWAYS find time for us to sit and talk. Thank You that even on the days when I can’t write I at least look over and consider the reading for the next time I do get to write.
Thank You for keeping me coming back to You, no matter what the day’s demands are. Remind me again of this day if/when I start to slip into the role of the sluggard again. Thank You for calling me out of it (again).
