The Ant, My Teacher

“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.” (Proverbs 6:6-8)

When our kids grow up and leave home, one of the things we want them to have learned under our watch is the importance of doing what you should do, when you should do it, without someone else having to tell you to do it. The book of Proverbs speaks about this topic in numerous places because this kind of self-discipline is one of the foundations of a life well-lived. Wise dads do what they can to both model and teach it.

In this proverb, we’re invited to consider the ant. She is a tiny creature and seems to have little substance. And yet, this little creature is a picture of focus, discipline, and industriousness. She knows what must be done each day, what must be done each season, and without anyone telling her what to do or watching over her shoulder, she quietly sets about her work. It doesn’t matter what the weather is doing, it doesn’t matter what her friends are doing, it doesn’t matter what obstacles may be in front of her or how difficult the day’s work may be. Each day she gets up and does the next best thing that needs to be done.

How can we teach this to our children? The first thing we can do is model it for them. Do your kids see you setting out each day doing what you should do, when you should do it, without needing to be poked or prodded by a spouse or an employer’s threat? Do they see you steadily working away at long-term projects that you successfully bring to completion? Do they see you disciplining yourself to read the Scriptures and grow bit-by-bit in your Christian maturity? Any one of these things would make an easy starting point for a conversation with your children about the importance of being able to work independently.

The lesson of the ant can also be learned very effectively in the context of their education. We can begin by helping them go about their school work like the ant. The ant doesn’t wait until a few days before the harvest to begin furiously preparing her food for the whole winter. Rather she’s working at this each and every day. Likewise, when our children have long-term reports coming due, or exams on the way, we want to help them discover the value of working steadily at something over time rather than cramming furiously at the last moment.

At some point along the way, our kids need to be able to learn to do their schoolwork without supervision. There’s nothing wrong with having a supervisor by any means, but many of the vocations in today and tomorrow’s economy that we are preparing them for are such that supervisors do not exist. If they don’t do the work, they simply won’t get paid, but no one will be there holding their hand telling them what to do next. Freelancers, business owners, entrepreneurs, artists, and others have to get up each day and determine what the right next thing to do is in order to put food on the table and then do it. We will serve our kids well by training them in this while still under our watch and modeling it for them as well.

Have you been diligent about your work of training up your children in the way they should go? Are there ways you can be diligent to share a little wisdom with them each day so that you’re not trying to cram it all in as they approach their 18th birthday? Let us too learn from the ant and do the work each day of training our children now that we may see a great harvest from their lives once they leave home.