A Lesson From An Ant

"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 6:6-8

Whenever I open up a new window within Internet Explorer, the initial page that opens up shows  me about eight of my most recently viewed websites.  As I scroll over each website listed, it then tells me what my activity level has been on each site.  It will say either "Very Active," "Active," or "Less Active."

I began to think.  What would it look like if God scrolled His divine little mouse over my life and it revealed my activity level for each of my life's various activities?  I wonder if I would be shocked by any areas that revealed a "Very Active" participation or disappointed in those that showed "Less Active."

I think we fool ourselves into thinking that we're more productive with our time than we actually are.  Our down time gets filled with idle social networking and television watching.  Before we know it, hours have passed and we have nothing to show for multiple hours of our day.

A popular Superbowl commercial has recently reminded us that there are certain livelihoods that don't afford the luxury of copious amounts of free time.  As we can learn something from the farmer, the writer of Proverbs would also suggest that we could learn something from the tiny ant.

God designed those little insects with the innate discipline to be diligent to accomplish their daily tasks and the ability to avoid unnecessary idleness.  Ants don't allow themselves to become distracted by useless temptations, but rather every distraction presents an opportunity to further provide for the future.

Hear me when I say that I'm not suggesting that we spend all of our time working our fingers to the bone and burning the candle at both ends.  What I am suggesting is that we keep our priorities in proper perspective. 

For instance:

• Facebook time is perfectly fine, but make sure Facebook doesn't replace your time spent in the Good Book.
• Watching television is enjoyable, but make sure it doesn't take the place of quality family time spent talking and sharing about things that really matter.
• Web surfing, game playing, and reading are all great activities, as long as they don't take the place of time spent in meditation and prayer.

Someone once said that you can tell what a person's priorities are by looking through their checkbook and seeing how they spend their money.  Well, I also think we can tell what they are by looking at their date book and seeing how they spend their time. 

Take a moment to assess how your idle time is spent.  If you're like me, you could probably turn some things off a little more often and be about something of greater significance. 

Ask God to show you where your priorities seem to lie based on how your time is spent.  Ask Him to help you be a better steward of your time so that He can be glorified in every aspect of your day.  Ask Him to gently guide you away from things that need to be avoided and to lovingly direct you towards things of greater value.