8-8-21 Benson & Vail Sermon

Pastor Tim Patoka

God’s Zoo: Ants

August 8, 2021

Work Like The Wise Ant Proverbs 6:6-11 1) Take the Initiative 2) Work for Tomorrow When you think of the lowly ant, what is that comes to mind? Maybe it’s how ants are often the subject of grade school scientific study with teachers introducing insect biology or schoolyard boys experimenting with sunlight and a magnifying glass. Maybe you’re thinking of your home where ants have found their way in and you just can’t get rid of them or the ant colony you or a friend had in their room with their intricate tunnels on full display. Or perhaps you associate fear and pain with ants because of the time you got too close and got bit all over.

But one thing I’m quite certain you don’t associate with ants is wisdom. As insects, they aren’t all that intelligent. And although hardworking, humans have accomplished far more than ants ever will. But there is indeed wisdom we can gain from observing the lowly ant. As our verses from Proverbs chapter 6 tell us this morning, we would be wise to observe the ant and imitate its hardworking ways if we are to avoid laziness and all the hardships that come along with it. And how can we work like the wise ant? It’s first of all to take the initiative and get working in the first place, even when no one is watching over us or spurring us on. And it’s secondly to work in the present for tomorrow’s gain so that we may benefit all the more in the days to come.

Understand King Solomon’s Advice Our verses this morning are written by the wisest sinner who ever lived – King Solomon, the son and rightful successor to mighty King David. As is Solomon’s general practice, he has a knack of using everyday objects to teach us timeless truths that continue to guide and shape our lives today as he did for his original hearers nearly 3,000 years ago. It’s no different with the ant he directs our attention to, telling us to observe its ways and become wise like it, so that we may avoid being called lazy or a slacker. And there are 2 things in particular that King Solomon draws from the ant for our benefit.

The first is how the ant takes the initiative to get working without relying on an overseer, officer, or ruler to whip him into shape. Although ants have a queen, her main job is reproduction, not domination. Not only do ants dutifully take the initiative, they second keep an eye on the future in all they presently do. As King 1

Pastor Tim Patoka

God’s Zoo: Ants

August 8, 2021

Solomon tells us, “it stores its food in summer. It gathers its provisions at harvest time.” (Proverbs 6:8 EHV) The ant makes good use of the harvest months of summer to prepare for the barren months of winter. It’s from this we see that ants are not just the mere opposite of lazy by merely staying busy, they are wise in how they work so that it may be for their best benefit.

It is this working like the wise ant that King Solomon encourages God’s children to do so that they may avoid laziness and the suffering that comes along with it. In Solomon’s time, there was no governmental safety net like we have today. Because of that, laziness could lead to especially hard difficulties that many Americans will thankfully never experience.

And the thing about laziness is that it happens little by little. As King Solomon tells us, “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of your hands to rest, 11and poverty will come on you like a prowler, and scarcity will come on you like a warrior.” (Proverbs 6:10-11 EHV) A little here, a little there. And before you know it, poverty is on you like a prowler attacking an unsuspecting victim on a dark street, scarcity is pressing down on you like a warrior in battle against his enemy. The way to avoid this from happening in the first place? To work like the wise ant – take the initiative and work for tomorrow so that you never expect to suffer poverty and scarcity.

Beware of Laziness’ Creeping Danger But that is easier said than done. Although written nearly 3,000 years ago, these words could easily be spoken to us today. How often have we lazily engaged in a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest when we should have been up and at them, working like the wise ant? We naturally lean towards laziness when we have the opportunity. How dutiful are you in your work when you don’t have someone or something keeping you on task? If you’re like most people, it’s not all that good. Unlike the ant, we need an overseer, officer, ruler, or something like that to get us up and working when we’d otherwise be resting.

When you are working, is it for tomorrow’s gain or to be done for the day? So often we cut back on what we should be doing and hurt ourselves in the future because of it.

Such laziness creeps up on us and can place us in danger, even in a prosperous country like ours. For those of you who have struggled to make ends meet, you know how poverty brings with it a whole host of additional problems.

Loss of sleep, stress of mind, weariness of body, that trapped feeling where you’re 2

Pastor Tim Patoka

God’s Zoo: Ants

August 8, 2021

lucky enough to simply keep your head above water. Making it feel as if a warrior is pressing up against you in a never-ending battle.

Not only does King Solomon tell us to work like a wise ant to save ourselves from unnecessary heartache and hardship, we also avoid laziness as a servant of our Lord. As you heard in our Scripture introduction to the Gospel, God expects his servants to be faithful workers with what the Lord has given them. While the first 2 servants did this, the 3rd servant got himself in trouble because of his persistent and purposeful laziness.

God has given us with all sorts of blessings like time, money, family, possessions, skills, abilities, and so much more. And as servants of our Lord, he expects us to manage them in a God-pleasing way. Not just on Sunday morning, but in our everyday lives as we live for God 7 days a week. Yet when we engage in persistent and purposeful laziness, we then liken ourselves to that 3rd servant whose own laziness crept up on him and got himself into trouble.

God’s Gospel Promises Free Us from Work Whenever we talk about how lazy we have been or what we should have done, we can easily get down on ourselves and feel excessively guilty, tempted to not only downgrade our own opinion of ourselves, but also to question God’s opinion of ourselves. Before you beat yourself up too much, know this – God doesn’t base your salvation on your ant-like work ethic for him. Rather, he bases it entirely on his grace and our faith in him and his promises. As he clearly tells us in Ephesians chapter 2(:8-9 EHV), “Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Think of how great it is that our works have nothing to do with us being saved from our sins. We know how lazy we have been with the blessings that God has given to us – failing to take the initiative, to work for tomorrow’s gain, to manage our blessings in a God-pleasing way. Despite our less-than-desired work ethic, we still get the full measure of God’s gospel promises. Forgiveness to wipe our sins of laziness away from God’s memory and record. Love lavished upon us regardless of how much we are a victim of outside circumstances or of our own self-doing. Freedom from trying to gain God’s grace and favor by how well we live for him. Although God calls us to work like wise ants, we are not obligated to do so in order to be saved from our sins. Rather, it is God’s gospel promises that free us from such work obligations.

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Pastor Tim Patoka

God’s Zoo: Ants

August 8, 2021

God’s Gospel Promises Free Us to Work These very same gospel promises also free us to work for our Lord with thankful hearts. It is this thankful attitude that is so important to understanding how we work for our Lord like wise ants. Unlike the Old Testament believers, we have no taskmaster over us detailing what to do every day of the week or issuing quotas of Christian behavior. Instead, we are freed up to work for our Lord whenever we want! With this freedom comes great responsibility to take the initiative. If you see something that needs attention around our worship space, let your site elder know or take care of it yourself if it’s a small thing. If you see an opportunity to share the gospel or to show Christ’s love to your neighbor, do so of your own accord without waiting for your pastor to point out possible ways of letting your light shine.

But also be sure to strike that balance between lazy and workaholic so that you don’t burn yourself out. If you remember from Old Testament times, God built in a mandatory day of rest with the Sabbath Day. For 6 days the nation of Israel was to work, but on the 7th day they were to rest and spend time in God’s Word.

While we are no longer bound to Sabbath Day regulations, it would be wise of us to use our freedom to manage our time and practice self-care so we can work like wise ants without burning out.

As we try to work like the wise ant in our service to the Lord, we also keep an eye for tomorrow’s gain. What can we do today to help our future? When it comes to our money, we are wise with our offerings, spending, and saving so we are free to as generous as we want in the future. When it comes to our time, we are wise with our habits, routines, and priorities so we can now sow gospel seeds to be later watered and harvested to God’s glory. As King Solomon specifically says, we are wise with our sleep, slumber, and rest so that we may avoid the prowler of poverty and warrior of scarcity and so save ourselves from unnecessary heartaches and hardships.

Throughout it all, we strive to work like wise ants so that we may be the furthest thing from that 3rd servant whose laziness crept up on him to his downfall.

May we always listen to King Solomon’s advice when it comes to serving our Lord in all we do by taking the initiative and working for tomorrow so that we may work like the wise ant. Amen.

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