Skip to main content

Lists

"Go to the Ant Thou Sluggard" Proverbs 6.6

Why am I so intrigued by lists? I see an article with a title like, "20 ways to leave your lover" and I want to know more about what the guy or girl is talking about. Not that I want to leave MY lover, by the way! If it said "How to leave your wife!" I'd be appalled and wouldn't give it a second glance. Why are those numbers in titles so attractive? What is it about a curt list that grabs my attention?

I think that I know. I want a shortcut. I am lazy. I need to succeed and I want to get there the comfortable way. I don't want to have to struggle to write a novel, earn more money or become a good father or husband. I want those ten easy steps.

To get anything worthwhile in this life takes work. Building a reputation is a lifetime pursuit. However, I don't want to spend a lifetime. Thus the lists grab my fancy.

It is much more exciting to think that I can become an award-winning author by following these "Five simple steps" than to have to go to college or through the college of hard knocks. Right? Is it that way with you?

Some people are list makers and list checker-offers. My wife is like that. She feels fulfilled when she can grab a pencil or pen and dash to her list and with bravado swipe through another task. Sometimes she gets frustrated because she can't do just that. However, for the most part her lists help her to do important stuff.

I like lists too, lists that other people make for me. However, I have discovered something important. A list doesn't make me more successful, useful, a better author or father. I might get some hints about these things but the success comes with hard work and time. Oh brother!

That is the part we hate isn't it? We don't want to have to go through all of the struggle that others have gone through. If I can shortcut the process, let me at it.

There is a Bible message here somewhere! Oh yeah! Just the other day, on one of my walks, I saw a small pile of yellow flakes on the ground. I stopped to have a look and noticed that they weren't flakes at all. They looked like little plugs of dirt. I picked on up on the dampened end of my finger and that is exactly what they were.

As I observed that tiny pile I noticed ants coming from a tiny hole nearby. I did what Solomon recommended and observed them. One by little one they came from and went into this tiny hole. The ones coming out were carrying the yellow dirt plugs. The ones going in were going to get more. There were a couple who looked like supervisors. They would go over and pick up an errant dirt plug and shuffle it to another location. The ants leaving the hole didn't just go to the nearest spot to deposit their cargo. They would walk a ways away from the hole and set it down as if it were an important little Ming vase. Or is it Vaze? It was fascinating.

I imagined the inside of that hole. More than likely there was no interior lighting. The ants were coming and going at a rather rapid pace. At times they would bump into each other but there didn't ever seem to be a fight or rude discussion. In and out they came and went. And over a short period they moved a lot of earth. There was no “5 easy steps”.

So, how do I become famous, successful or wise? Go to the ant thou sluggard not to the lists. Carry the dirt one chunk at a time. Time after time. With time allow God to direct and work in me and watch what happens. You'll be amazed.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tottering!

I was watching my one year old grandson, Brandon, today. He had on some baggy little shorts, weird flip-flops over his socks, and he was tottering. It made me think about how I often feel these days. Funny how that when we are little and "innocent" and tottering in our baggy pants, with our little potbelly sticking out from under our t-shirt we look precious. When we are older and tottering in our low slung trousers and the same potbelly, we looks pathetic! I guess that the two drastically opposite points of view are based on the viewer's chronological perspective. Brandon is growing and I'm dying. He is cute because the little guy has a lot to learn and we love to see him progress. The old guy has already had his chance at learning and what he is progressing toward is not quite so much fun to ponder. When I have these weird thoughts I praise my God because He never lets go of my hand whether a tottering little guy or an old one. And I found this verse to prove my po...

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth?  Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...

Church Isn't a Place

  Many times we say, I'm going to church on Sunday. What some fail to understand is that "church" isn't a building. I remember our pastor saying, "the church is an organism, not an organization." He was teaching us the Bible truth about the church. Jesus Christ is the head of the body, and the church is his body on earth. Another pastor once said, "God's hands have human fingers." This is a difficult concept for some to grasp, pun intended. However, it is important to understand that God accomplishes his work through human beings. He uses us, the church, to do his will and work. It's not that if we don't do his will that he is stymied. But he does use willing servants. To be in the church, one must be a part of the family. You cannot be in the church if you don't have the Savior. The church is not for the lost; it is for the edification of the saved. The lost can come and hear the message of salvation. But the church is made up of t...