The moment a tiny crumb of anything edible hits the ground, a colony of ants gets there. It gathers an army in a short time–sometimes, in the few minutes, we take to turn around to get the broom and the dustpan to clean the crumbs. While we were in Thailand, we saw hundreds of ants gather every time we dropped a tiny crumb on the floor or table. I often wondered how they got there so fast, that too, in the hundreds. Although we called these tiny gatherers a nuisance, we were intrigued by the way they functioned. And since we had plenty of time, we often just sat and did some ant-watching. Have you ever observed a row of ants moving up and down the wall?—Each ant greets the others coming from the opposite direction by touching their feelers. Also, fun fact: ants do not sleep beyond daybreak, no siestas either; they are always moving quickly, energetically and, most of all, tirelessly. It was all so fascinating—everything from the way it communicated to how these creatures work as a team to transport the crumbs to their end destination without any hassle. And don’t be deceived by its size; though so very small, the ant is unbelievably intelligent and hardworking. Touted as one of the most hardworking animals, these minuscule-sized creatures teach us a lot; so much that God takes its example in the Scriptures.
In Proverbs 6:6, God tells us to go to the ant; not the grasshopper:
Go to the ant, you sluggard!
Consider her ways and be wise.
Which, having no captain, overseer or ruler,
She provides her supplies in the summer.
And gathers her food in the harvest.
-Proverbs 6:6
Like the tiny ant, let us be diligent and hardworking. Time to get up, get to work, and stay at work.