Watchman Magazine » Bitterness

“Go to the Ant, Thou Sluggard” – Proverbs 6:6

Smith, Marc — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:00:33 +0000

Don’t you love this strong admonition of Solomon’s? Often we hear moaning and groaning that Christians are not doing their duty. We might have even joined in such a tirade. To some this explains why the Lord’s church seems to be dwindling in our time or that preachers or brethren in general will not take a stand for the truth as they should. Some get so depressed they seem to have in common the woeful sentiment Elijah expressed, “…And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1Kings 19:4a) I hope we do not actually go this far when we are discouraged. No doubt many of God’s children are content to be “sluggards.” But I have noticed a peculiar thing about those complaining and that is they are not talking about their own personal efforts but are mostly bemoaning that others are not doing enough or we blame others for causing our state of mind.

Let us go to Proverbs and read 6:6-11, “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, 8 Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest. 9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep- 11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man.” This is an excellent passage for our application to be good workers in life to provide for earthly needs but we can also gain the application for spiritual activity in so-called “church work,” with perhaps a special view to the work of converting the lost of this world or simply standing for the truth.

Let us go back to ants for a moment. How many of us as children spent hours lying in the grass watching and completely fascinated by the activity of ants. There is always a lot going on close to an anthill. Ants are very tiny and their works seem inconsequential, especially to young children. However, as small as ants are they accomplish a tremendous amount.

According to NOVA’s (PBS-TV), Edward O. Wilson, PhD. in Entomology, the combined weight of all ants in the world is about equal to that of all the humans on the earth! That means that for every one of us, there are millions of them. Mostly unappreciated by us until maybe we are stung or bitten by them, their constant hustle and bustle actually alters the environment everywhere these creature thrive. Think about this: entire ecologies are shaped by the untiring work of countless worker ants that as individuals are never named or remembered as individuals. Thanklessly, without any notice they spend their entire lives working for the hive. The result of this remarkable industry is that ants are as numerous as they are. There is no worry at all that ants will at some point go on the endangered species list. Sometimes we actually worry that Christians may be on the endangered list!

One of my favorite observances concerning ants is a time I watched a single ant carrying a bit of straw that was several times its body length and weighed perhaps twice or more than the ant itself. It struggled under this awkward and mighty load but nevertheless the little ant diligently carried on. The amazing thing was that the ant came to an insurmountable fissure in its path and so it put down the load. The ant then walked up and down the length of the impassible chasm for a second or two as if trying to reason out what it was going to do. Then seeming to figure out this daunting conundrum, the ant once again grabbed up the straw and laid it across the deep crack in the earth. Then it simply and matter-of-factly walked across this self made bridge and once across, picked up its temporary bridge and continued its journey once again bearing the mighty load!

In our passage from Proverbs, which causes us to consider the nature of ants for a moment, the Lord wants us to make some applications that really can be wide ranging for us and can also help to correct some attitudes toward others.

Put a smile on your face! The prime thing is “to be of good cheer” (Matthew 14:27). Have confidence that in serving the Lord Jesus we have made the right commitment of our life and efforts, Romans 8:37, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Generally the child of God should always have at our very core the knowledge that our choice to serve the Lord was the best decision any person could ever make of all the choices in life. Therefore, be confident!
You can overcome whatever has hurt you! Now when we have done much in the Lord’s service it is possible from time to time to become even physically tired, spiritually discouraged and emotionally exhausted. We are only human. All the mature among us in the service of the Lord will eventually have friends in Christ who disappoint and hurt us (but remember to count the friends who have not forsaken you, Proverbs 18:24; Paul relied upon Luke and Timothy after Demas and others had forsaken him). We can have physical concerns and just simply our getting older that will begin to limit us and these can take time and patience to learn to deal with. We may lose loved ones and experience the awful longing of grief. These kinds of real experiences in life can deal us blow after blow that we actually feel doing us harm. After the beheading of John, Jesus exhorted those so obviously discouraged by saying, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Sometimes we need a little time to “recharge our batteries” but we must not use what should be a very temporary condition to become a permanent and abiding attitude. Remember: We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us! There is a reasonable amount of time for every cause of discouragement to eventually be shaken off so we can continue faithfully our part in the cause of Christ. I think of the element of real hope in the woman with the issue of blood who thought within herself, “If I may but touch the hem of His garment I can be made whole” (Matthew 9:20-22). Faith! Remember Paul’s statement about his own goals, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). Peter’s exhortation is priceless: 1Peter 1:13, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Get to work for the Lord! Someone has said, “Dig someone else out of his troubles and you dig a hole in which to bury your own.” Simply taking up the cross once again, we can actually make a new start. We want to join with Paul with no small amount of irony, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel” (Philippians 1:12). With the knowledge you have gained from your experience remember what James said in his epistle, 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” No matter what your hurt may have been, just know that the devil cannot lay a glove on you!

The Distaff: She Despised Him in Her Heart

Rowen, Deborah — Fri, 02 Jan 1998 03:32:19 +0000

There was much celebration that day in Jerusalem.

The Ark of the Covenant had been in the house of Obed-Edom for three months after a disastrous and unlawful transport that led to the death of Uzzah. The Lord had blessed the household of Obed-Edom and David had decided to bring the Ark up to the City. David and all the house of Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with joy. As God helped the Levites who bore the Ark, they stopped to make generous animal sacrifices. David was clothed in special linens and he danced before the Lord with all his might to shouting, music and trumpets.

“And as the Ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal, Saul’s daughter looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. So they brought the Ark of the Lord, and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Then he distributed among all the people, among the whole multitude of Israel, both the women and the men, to everyone a loaf of bread, a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. So all the people departed, everyone to his house. Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, `How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!’ So David said to Michal, `It was before the Lord, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the Lord. And I will be even more undignified than this and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.’ Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death” (2 Samuel 6:16-23).

David returned home from performing his duty before the Lord a joyful man. Michal, on the other hand, met him with ridicule and scorn. As she was watching out the window, “she despised him in her heart.” How had she come to this point? How had Michal come to a state of mind where she despised the man she had loved (1 Samuel 18:20), the anointed King of Israel, the man her father and brother had loved also? David was a man who earned the respect and devotion of many people; a man chosen by God. But Michal had allowed her dark emotions to lead her down a path of ruin. She had no more children to the day of her death. Later, David delivered her five sons by Adriel the Meholathite to the Gibeonites for hanging (2 Samuel 21:8). Michal’s baleful attitude toward her husband turned a day of worship into contention and turned a happy marriage into barrenness and tragedy.

Hagar is another woman whose harsh emotions of spite led to much hardship in her life.

In Genesis 16:4 we read: “So he (Abraham) went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes.” Even a stay in the desert and a visit from the angel of the Lord did not change Hagar’s jealous and unruly tongue toward Sarah. Learning by example, Ishmael, Hagar’s son grew up to scoff at Isaac. Finally, banished to the wilderness with only bread and water, vulnerable to the elements with a child in her arms, she lost the bounty and comfort of Abraham’s tents forever and gained a bush to lay her son under to die. Though blessed by God, Hagar’s descendants continued their animosity toward Sarah’s descendants throughout Biblical history. Hagar is another example of how spite can lead to one’s ruin, poison succeeding generations, and change the course of history.

How can women guard their way against such ruin?

The Lord has admonished us to monitor our thoughts lest we travel the path of Michal and Hagar: “Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8). We are emotional creatures and must not be carried away by dark and crude thoughts that lead to regrettable words. It would have been better for Michal to have disciplined herself, turned away from the window, and found work for her hands. Better yet, she could have joined the other women of Israel and worshiped with them. A busy person has little time to dwell on the inadequacies of others while looking out windows. Likewise, Hagar should have counted her blessings and guarded her heart against the jealousy and spite that brought her to ruin.

If we fill our heart and thoughts with evil it will spew our of our mouth eventually. As our Lord said: “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile the man” (Matthew 15:18). Even as the Gentiles, Michal and Hagar “became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). We should heed these sobering words of the Lord to Solomon: “The Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you: but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). Let us be careful not to let a thoughtless moment of meanness ruin our marriage as Michal did, or a lifetime of bitterness land us and our children in a desert of despair like Hagar.

In our daily lives we must read and think on things that will lift and edify ourselves away from evil intent. If dark thoughts are on your mind, “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). If you are involved in a conflict, “be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). If someone has displeased you “do not grumble against one another” (James 5:9) If you must speak in an atmosphere of ill will “let your words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

God has given speech to humans and one donkey. Let us at least be as prudent as the donkey who spoke no harsh words against the master who was beating him unjustly. (Numbers 22). And as the archangel Michael, let us bring no reviling accusation against anyone (Jude 9). Our best path may be to guard our words carefully, practice prudent speech, and fill our minds with the word of God that gives no place to evil: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, puton tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another: even as Christ forgaveyou, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful” (Colossians 3:12-15).