The Bible says in Proverbs 6: 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.
Ethic of Diligence
The ant is an interesting creature. Truly, it doesn’t have a boss or an overseer lording over it with a small whip and a bullhorn demanding that it work harder and faster. The ant has, as a part of its constitution and DNA, an ethic of diligence.
The character trait exhibited by the ant is referred to many times in scripture. The ant is viewed with a layer of excellence and the attributes of the ant are suggested and even commanded for us to emulate and model. The ant is diligent. It works in the summer and does not sleep during the harvest. The ant is constantly on the move.
Now, I’m not advocating working yourself to the bone. But what I am advocating is being diligent and efficient and strategic with your moves. An ant takes the path of least resistance and the path that is most straightforward. An ant makes things happen.
Positive Activity
There is a level of positive activity that is associated with an ant. We should be aggressive and assertive in our time on the clock. We should be quick to work, quick to execute, and efficient in our moves. An ant seeks to do work when work can be done. The ant doesn’t sleep during the harvest. During the summer, the ant is diligently laboring and storing up treasures of food and resource for the future months.
The Bible goes on to say to be like the ant so that you are not in need. Diligently work, create processes, create systems, and create plans and diligently set them up.
Do extra work. If you look at a sloth, that crazy looking three-toed animal that sits in a tree for the majority of its life, and it's almost comedic how slow the creature moves. Contrast that with an ant. An ant is busy moving and making things happen. A sloth sits dormant and looks as though it's dead.
Be the ant, not the sloth. Dominate with diligence. Be the ant.