Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Again God looks to other parts of His creation to teach us, the ones who are supposed to be the wisest part of God’s creation. Ants are just little creatures. We can step on them and squish them very easily. However, ants are busy little creatures who cannot be destroyed.
The sluggard is the lazy person. There are far too many people in Canada who expect and in fact demand a pay check from the few who are working and paying taxes. Over 40% of the “labour” force in Canada is employed by the government. That is not a good situation. We have a bloated civil service. No one can tell me those people contribute their proper share to the economy of this country. Yes, they spend money, but they get their money from the hard working taxpayers of this country. Those people receive inflated pay checks for very little worthwhile labour.
The sluggard is not just the one who sits around waiting for their next welfare check. It is also the many who demand a pay check because they were hired for a position that is not at all needed. Since the Wuhan virus, too many government employees work from home and not held accountable.
Ants do not need an overseer. Ants know they need to build and maintain their home and they know they need to go and gather the food needed to live. They continue to reproduce and they do their work. In certain places they can be a nuisance. However, the ants are busy while the weather is suitable to work. They do not look for handouts. Ants have done the same thing year after year.
In verse 9 an important question is asked. The sluggard has no motivation. He might trudge over to the store to buy a lottery ticket or go to a casino to gamble the money that he cheated the taxpayers out of.
It would not be a problem to have people working from home if they were actually working. We know that the public service accomplishes far less now than they used to and yet there are more of them there. Computers speed up work, but not with the public sector.
In verse 10 God exposes the thought process of the sluggard. He just wants a little more sleep. He wants to relax a little longer. Verse 11 tells us that the person who is a sluggard, should face poverty. Canada’s welfare system should be shut down immediately. The Bible says:
II Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
A traveller plans his trip and at the end of that trip, he expects to be back home again and get back to normal. Sometimes a person goes on a trip and finds some unexpected expenses. Jesus used the example of the traveller who was ambushed and robbed and beaten and left to die. That man had some expenses he had no way to pay. He needed the help of someone. The only one willing to help him was a Samaritan.
In our text, God warned of the situation the sluggard should face. As mentioned already, our godless society, is trying to prove God wrong. Thus the government becomes the guarantor for the sluggard and the working minority is expected to pay so that the sluggard can continue to be lazy.
The armed man is the one who is well equipped for battle. He is confident that he can go into battle and be successful. The person that is not well armed will be defeated and possibly killed. The sluggard should expect to be left hungry and without shelter. We have many “homeless” people who many times are sluggards who do not want to follow any rules and want to mooch off of others. They steal and they are abusive. They too expect society to provide for them. They are making a statement and again, our God-hating governments steal taxpayer dollars to allow those people to continue their abusive lifestyle.
There are people who are genuinely poor. They have had some genuine situation that has put them into poverty. They need help. They do not demand help. They want to get back on their feet and they want to contribute to society in a meaningful way. God is not talking of them. He is talking of those who could and should work, but do not want to. They want the benefits of those who do work, but they should expect nothing.
Today is the Lord’s day. If you are a sluggard, you need to get up and get ready to attend a true, local, Bible-believing church. You need to hear the sound preaching of God’s Word and you need to get saved. When you get saved, you will no longer be a sluggard. You cannot be that if you are truly saved. You will be ashamed of your past careless lifestyle. You will go to work and pay your way and seek to help someone who has a genuine need.
Those that are saved, also need to be sure you are getting ready to go to a true, local Bible-believing church where you can continue to grow.
There are so many people who waste their time in a religious social club that feeds their ego, and robs them of the needed opportunity to hear the truth. It is shocking to see how many people are content to be lied to. Be sure you are not one of them. Listen to God and know His peace and blessing.
Pastor Bartel