"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man" - Proverbs 6:6-11
Oftentimes when we want to look at an example to follow, we tend to look at those things that are "large" or "great" in appearance. We don't tend to look at tiny, insignificant things. For example, if I wanted to point to an example of great architectural work, I might point to the Taj Mahal in India, not a dollhouse in my daugther's bedroom. However, sometimes it is those small things that provide the biggest of lessons.
Solomon, in this passage, wants us to direct our eyes, not to the blue whale, but to the ant, one of the smallest of creatures. He does it because he wants us to learn a valuable lesson from this small insect. That lesson is to get up and be productive. If we want to have the type of lifestyle we desire, both now and in retirement, that is going to be the byproduct of diligent work. Leisure and rest, while important at times, cannot dominate our time. The more we fill our days with unproductive things, the less successful we will be, and the quicker we will be headed down the road of poverty.
The ant does not wait for a to-do list from his boss to work; he gets up and works. The ant knows what needs to be done and does it without being told to. The ant knows that in order to survive the coming winter, he is going to have to start gathering in the summer. The ant knows that if he is slack in his work today, that is going to cost him in the future. Therefore, the ant does what he needs to do now, so that he won't have to suffer later.
When I look at this particular passage from Proverbs, I am reminded of a story I have read countless times to my daugther, the story of the grasshopper and the ant. In that story, you had the ant who was spending his time in the summer gathering food and getting it all stored up. Meanwhile, the grasshopper was relaxing and enjoying the summer sun. Day after day, the grasshopper would look at the ant work and would shake his head, "What a fool that ant is. It's too beautiful of a day to work. I'm gonna enjoy this day". Summer turned into fall, and the ant was still diligently working, whereas the grasshopper was diligently resting. Fall then turned into winter and the plentiful food that was available in the other seasons was no longer there. The grasshopper, because he did not prepare for the winter season, had no food to get through the season. The ant however, because he stayed productive during the summer and fall, was prepared for winter and had more than enough to get through the season.
The mindset of the ant is the mindset we need to have when it comes to what we do each and every day. Where we end up in the future will be the result of what we do today. If we spend all of our time playing video games, sleeping, and watching Netflix, we cannot be shocked when we struggle to maintain a regular job. If we spend all of our money on pleasures for today, we cannot be shocked when we have no money in retirement. On the flip side, if we spend our time being productive, the byproduct of that will be a good and stable career. If we set aside a portion of our money from our paycheck into savings, the byproduct of that will be a comfortable retirement. It's really that simple.
Therefore, if you need an example of who or what to imitate in order to avoid poverty and have a comfortable lifestyle, look down in your backyard or on the sidewalk and observe the ant. Look at the ant's productivity and diligence and do likewise.