By
Nina Ditoro
The
ants are a people not strong,
Yet
they prepare their food in the summer…
-Proverbs
30:25
In
Aesop’s fable, The Ant and the Grasshopper, the grasshopper spends
the whole summer just singing and not working, while the ant works very hard
storing up food for the winter. When winter arrives, the grasshopper begins
to worry because she has no food. She goes to the ant and begs her to lend
her some of her hard-earned food. The ant, who was hesitant about lending,
scornfully asked the grasshopper what she had done during the nice summer
weather. The grasshopper replied that she had spent her time singing. In
return, the ant scoffingly replied that the grasshopper should, therefore,
spend the winter dancing.
Long
before Aesop was born, Solomon wrote about the folly of laziness in the book
of Proverbs.
The
way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns,
But
the way of the upright is a highway.
-Proverbs
15:19
Laziness
casts one into a deep sleep,
And
an idle person will suffer hunger.
-Proverbs
19:15
The
lazy man will not plow because of winter;
He
will beg during harvest and have nothing.
-Proverbs
20:4
He
who loves pleasure will be a poor man;
He
who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
-Proverbs
21:17
Solomon
also made this observation:
I
went by the field of the lazy man,
And
by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
And
there it was, all overgrown with thorns;
Its
surface was covered with nettles;
Its
stone wall was broken down.
When
I saw it, I considered it well;
I
looked on it and received instruction:
A
little sleep, a little slumber,
A
little folding of the hands to rest;
So
shall your poverty come like a prowler,
And
your need like an armed man.
-Proverbs
24:30-34
While
there is a time for rest and relaxation, it is important not to develop a
lazy attitude and way of life. God set the precedent in Genesis
1-2:2. He worked for six days and then rested
on the seventh. A slothful way of life may seem
appealing, but in the end it will bring nothing but misery and angst.
And
whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord...
(Col. 3:23).
