“Go to the ant, you sluggard…” It almost sounds like pirate talk, doesn’t it! Of the 35 verses in Proverbs 6, this little passage is the one that stands out to me on January 6, 2013.
“Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-7 NIV.
My first thought is that we don’t need someone to rule over us in order to do well, like a perfect boss or government official. A little bug is wise enough to prepare for what’s ahead (winter) by storing food when it’s available (summer). No one is cracking the whip over him, yet he works hard with his comrades every day of his life. No leader, no commander; he just does what he’s designed to do. This proverb is telling me to learn from him.
Here’s what I’m seeing; though my resources may be few, I have enough to be diligently laying some aside for the future – if I’m wise, work hard and do it.
“Consider its ways and be wise.”
by Kathy Sheldon Davis
kathysheldondavis.com 
Wow, Marie. I appreciate you typing so much to share your thoughts with me. That must have been quite an effort. I’m glad to hear you’re doing better. I’m also struggling with sluggard-ness this week – I’ve been sick since Saturday and just can’t seem to shake it. I’m considering calling it a fast. Or maybe “when I am weak, then am I strong.” Jesus, if you will, you can make us well.
Thanks, Kathy, for sharing your journey through Proverbs this month. I got a late start, but am working to catch up to a proverb a day. It’s something that I, too, have done many times in the past, and have found to be beneficial. I’m enjoying reading your thoughts as you go along.
In Proverbs 6, the sluggard also speaks to me:
“How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest
And poverty will come on you like a bandit
And scarcity like an armed man.”
On December 9, I fell and suffered my very first broken bone. I broke my right wrist! Now I’m right-handed, so this injury has really set me back! I won’t go into the subsequent set-backs along the way with mishaps in urgent care, etc. Suffice it to say I had 3 splints, and am now in my 3rd cast, with the prospect of yet another one before all is said and done! At least I won’t have to have the surgery that was mentioned as a possibility in the beginning, considering the severity of my break!
I have found that I am not good with just one hand, and that my LEFT! I’m amazed at how much I cannot do without my right hand! (Have you ever tried to put on a bra with one hand?! Can you do your hair? I can’t even cook! Even typing this takes considerable more time, since I have to watch the keyboard to see that my left hand is getting to the right keys. I CAN now sign my name — very slowly, and only when someone holds the paper still for me – it doesn’t really look like my signature, but at least its readable).
This brings me to my thoughts on the verses I mentioned. I don’t believe I’ve ever been one that others would consider lazy, a sluggard. But I am now feeling like one! There are many things that I have to depend on others to do for me. I have essentially been forced to take a break. And to be honest, I haven’t made the best use of this time off.
So what can I do aside from a few minor housekeeping chores between keeping my arm elevated to reduce swelling? Well, I can read, I can pray, I can type slowly with my left hand. Maybe it’s time I do a little more of those things, and less of sitting mindlessly feeling sorry for myself! Maybe I should be in the Word more and communing with my Lord – praying for others, finding His direction for my life, enjoying His presence, growing in my faith. Maybe DOING with my hands isn’t even as important as all of those. Ya think?!