Proverbs 6:6
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Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
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Sluggards are too arrogant to be taught (26:16), so Solomon mocks them with ants. If they were to watch ants for a few minutes, these haughty bums could learn success; for ants are much wiser than sluggards. A Harvard MBA is not as useful as what is taught in your yard everyday. But sluggards are too proud to learn from the small teacher.
Sluggards stay in bed, for they love sleep (6:9-11; 20:13; 24:30-34). They want things like other men, but they don't want to work for them (13:4). Staying in bed is too nice!
Let us consider ants. If we get down in the grass and watch these little creatures, we quickly see wisdom and habits that are very useful. Ants don't sleep beyond daybreak, and they don't take siestas; so don't worry about waking them early in the morning.
They are always moving, quickly and energetically. They don't stand around, sit around, or drag through their work. They work fast. They don't pace themselves to spread work out: they go right at a project and work hard until it is finished (Eccl 9:10). They hustle!
They don't need supervision (6:7), for they just get to work and find something to do. What a difference from the sluggard, who must always be prodded to get anything done.
When times are good, they work extra hard to store up for bad times (6:8); they don't presume to take it easy. They store surplus rather than eat it. And in their wisdom, they even bite off the ends of grain kernels to keep them from germinating in storage.
They don't have union rules or selfish habits keeping them from helping others. If one is moving something too large for it alone, others will help him get it where it needs to be.
They do not choose the easiest way or get discouraged if the job cannot be quickly finished. When facing difficulties, they energetically try again and again until they are successful. They will go great distances from home in order to find their food. They will get into houses, cars, and just about anything in order to find what they need.
Dear reader, consider the ways of these little people. Hard work will do much more than talking (14:23) and dreaming (28:19). Don't love sleep (6:9-11; 20:13); get busy!
What is a sluggard? A person who is slow, lazy, and does not like to work hard. He is a pain to those trusting him (10:26). Diligent men will be successful (10:4; 12:24; 14:23; 22:29; 28:19); but lazy men are losers (6:10-11; 12:24; 19:15; 20:4,13; 24:30-34).
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