Life Lessons from the Ant

I was rummaging through some old stuff in my garage when I found some ants nestled in one box.  I was grumbling when my son heard me and he asked me this question, “Would you rather have ants than termites?”  That question made me stop and write this article about life lessons from the ant. 

Ants may be small but we have so much to learn from them that God wrote a passage about them in the Bible.  Proverbs 6:6-8 says

“⁶Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! ⁷It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, ⁸yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”

1. Always be prepared. The ant is busy, rain or shine.  It is not like the bear that hibernates.  The ant is always busy doing something to make sure that it has what it needs whatever that need or emergency may be.  The ant cannot be surprised with any crisis. It is always ready, always prepared.

 

2. The ant never stops; it never quits. During my childhood days in my native country, I would play with ants.  I would try to disperse them by cutting through their single file.  I would succeed for a while but a minute later, I would find them in a single straight line again. They get back to what they were doing. In life, we encounter distractions, obstacles or hurdles. It’s okay to pause for a while, recollect your thoughts and your composure. But after that little while, you need to get back on your journey, looking straight ahead to your dreams and aspirations.

3. Think about your future. The ant is an epitome of industriousness.  They are always busy storing food and making a shelter.  They are thinking about the future.  They store food to make sure that during rainy, flood or snow months, they have food to eat.  They build shelter to avoid the rains and snow (they used my box to hide from the coldJ).  They plan and think about the future.  

How about you?  Do you think of your future?  Do you save part of your earnings or you spend it the moment you receive it?  If you are an employee and you receive your Christmas bonus, do you think of mall sales or you think of your future first? 

4. Sunshine will always follow you when you are wise and hardworking. What happens to people who are lazy, always thinking of rest, vacation and recreation? Surely, they will have nothing to eat when calamity strikes.  We need to follow the frugal and hardworking ant so that whatever happens in life, we will have something to support us.  

The ant, small as it is, is full of wisdom and traits that if we follow will help us during bad times.  Not that I am a pessimist but I believe that we should always expect the best but be prepared for the worst.

Have a blessed day!