Proverbs 6:6-9

"Consider her ways and be wise." Look at the lessons here. The ant is self-motivated—"which having no captain"—no one has to force it to go to work. Each ant strenuously pursues its own duties in a disciplined, organized way. They take care of matters when they need taking care of, without procrastination. They do not put it off until the next day. When the time comes to do it, they do it.

There is no putting it off. Not like the sluggard who says, "Aw, there's a lion in the street. It's cold outside. It's so comfortable here. It can wait until tomorrow. There's no rush. There's no reason why I have to do it now." Nobody has to beat the ant with a whip. When the ant sees a job that needs to be done, it does it.

In addition to that, they are a diligent, social insect. That is important. Just as we are social (we are not insects, but we are social), they are concerned about the welfare of the colony. And in addition to this, if you watch them, they devote the utmost of care to their young. The amazing thing about all this is that they do it without a leader.

The overall lesson of the ant is for us to avoid indolence. The lazy person falls into poverty. It matters not whether the indolence is expressed in physical or spiritual areas, indolence will not produce prosperity. God is saying, if you watch the ant, the wisdom will be that prosperity is not the result of wishes, but of work.