WEDNESDAY Protect Your Work Read Proverbs 6:6–8 . What can we learn from the ant? Not only do ants work hard (even harder than humans, if one compares the burden they are able to carry to the burden humans can carry in proportion to their respective weights), but ants work independently and do not need to be supervised. The main reason for their hard work is the future. They anticipate times of trouble (winter) and prepare themselves for them. So, the ant teaches us the wisdom of thinking about the future when making plans or engaging in an activity. This is a question that demands consideration by every parent, every teacher, every student — by every human being, young or old. No scheme of business or plan of life can be sound or complete that embraces only the brief years of this present life and makes no provision for the unending future. — Ellen G. White, Education, p. 145. Read Proverbs 6:9–11 . What can we learn from the sluggard? It is the sluggard who has something to learn from the ant, not the other way around: Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise (Prov. 6:6, NKJV ) . While the ants are at work, the sluggards are asleep. While the ants are productive at the harvest, the sluggards keep folding their two hands, a symbol of indolence. The ants surpass themselves by carrying burdens heavier than themselves and by preparing for the future; the sluggards live in the present and are occupied only with themselves. Though indolence and laziness are condemned here, we must also remember that life consists of more than work and earning money. How does the Sabbath, as presented in the context of the workweek, help us find this proper balance?
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 17:43:57 +0000