March 1, 2023
Have you ever wondered how many different kinds of animals are mentioned in the Bible? According to the website – christiananswers.net there are 138 animals and related terms. As I’ve looked at various lists, a lot depends on if you are talking species, types, kinds, etc. Of course the Bible doesn’t mention every animal that is or has existed (just think of the dog family and how many variations the Lord has placed within that group). And while dogs figure prominently in several passages, interestingly there is not one mention of a domestic cat in the entire canon of Scripture. (Just reporting the news and not making a judgment. I wonder if he really cares?)
As we enter March, the category I’ll be writing about is THINGS: Animals, Wells, Tools, and Doors that God made with His people. And with every blog this year, I will be emphasizing how we need to re-invent our lives, reprioritize if you will, to BE what God wants us to BE. While in Stellendamn, South Africa I saw this store’s name … and thought it would fit the March theme.
Which of the animals to write about today? Hmmmm … well one of the insignificant ones, one whose name is usually in the top 2 or 3 of all Biblical animal lists. The ANT.
You know … the things crawling through the grass at picnics, that invade your house looking for “floor food”, that try to gnaw on the wood supporting your home, that we accidently or intentionally walk on, the creatures that build little sand mounds in our driveways, and that we used to try to fry with a magnifying glass (ok, some of us did according to a close personal friend)
Really?? An ant?? Rather small, don’t you think? Sort of lowly? Yes they are … but wowsa, they are pretty incredible creatures, regardless of their size, shape, or color. One web site records: You’ve seen lines of ants ferrying large loads, but how much can an ant lift? Well, some ants can carry up 10–50 times their weight. If that doesn’t sound very impressive to you, consider that a 2-milligram ant carrying 10 times its own weight is about the equivalent of a 180-pound human carrying a full-grown cow.
Here are a couple of other web links that give some more amazing insights and facts about the little creatures we call ants:
https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/insects/ant-facts/
https://thefactfile.org/ant-facts/
The ant has gotten a lot positive press in recent years – Think of the movies ANT-MAN, ANTZ, IT’S A BUGS LIFE, and THE ANT BULLY to name just a few. Then have been several tv shows / series and currently a co-host on Britain’s Got Talent bearing that name.
The Bible has only two primary passages that talk about this little guy: Proverbs 6:6-11 and 30:24-:25. Both of these passage emphasis the intentionality, loyalty, diligence, and strong work ethic of the ant.
Work. Work together. Work hard. Work to provide. The North American culture definitely espouses a work ethic that has been second-to-none on planet earth. Forbes Business School, Harvard Business Review, and countless other businesses, educational schools, and vocational articles and books have promoted the ANT as a model of a productive worker and enterprise.
Until recently, the idea of working well was associated with identity, prosperity, and security. But things are changing, and changing for the worse. Americans in particular have allowed this work ethic to foster idolatry in our lives. Money, materialism, pleasure, and self-sufficiency have, in large part, replaced our love for God and our concern for the world of humanity
The Bible, for sure, teaches the importance of a strong work ethic. But so does out culture. Our world so often says, “Work because this is how you get ahead and get what you want.”
The reason we give for working should be followed by a second question. “I work for money.” WHY? “I work to provide.” WHY? “I work so I can have a certain standard of living.” WHY? If you notice, all of those answers are centered around self, none of them have a thing to do with God or with anyone outside of the world that we approve of. To live like this is to live like a lowly ant.
Little ants, are industrious for sure. They spend their lives running to-and-fro, building little tunnels and sand mounds. But in the passing of time, wind, rain, predators, mean people, magnifying glasses and much more will be the ultimate winners of their efforts and bring an end to their personal achievements and eventually their memory. Think of it … of all the ants you’ve seen, walked on, driven over, and fried … how many do you remember?
And I’ve thought, that very well is the story of humanity; the story of you and me. We, like lowly ants, strive for hours, days, weeks, months, and years to build stuff. Stuff that in a blink of an eye or in the heat of a magnifying glass will cease to exist and fade from memory.
The ants teach us to work hard. But we have to ask again, why and for what.
Rather than running to-and-fro, investing our life in the tunnels and sand mounds of this temporary world, we should answer those questions with God’s kingdom in mind. Why do I work? The best answer possible would be: To honor God and to help mankind – not just ourselves. What do I work for? God’s kingdom … using every opportunity, every day to represent God and to share Him with others, so that at the end of life … I’ve been accepted by God through my faith in Jesus and have brought someone into Heaven with me. In 2023 … BE a Kingdom worker … not a lowly ant.