10 Success And Spiritual Lessons From Ants In The Bible

Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: (KJV)

Do you want to be more productive? Would you like to learn knowledge for success in all spheres? Do you want to be successful in both your endeavors and your spiritual life? Go to the ant!

There are great lessons from ants in the bible. Ants are incredible creatures with a wealth of knowledge that we may learn from. The most important thing in life is wisdom, so get it. (proverbs 4:7)

In this post about learning from ants, I will explain the set of people that were directed to go to the ant. We’ll consider the ways of ants and then apply them to our lives.

Learning from ants: Go to the ant…

To get lessons from ants, we must first go to the ants. But going to the ant requires the following virtues:

• Honesty to oneself,
• Humility, and
• Teachability.

Honesty to oneself:

Being honest to oneself entails evaluating your strengths and weaknesses, and needs and desires. Self-honesty allows you to truly know who you are.

Humility:

It takes humility for a man to learn from an inferior creature like an ant.

Teachability:

This is the willingness to receive instructions or to learn. Even though there are good lessons from ants, it takes this virtue to take them in.

Let’s take a closer look at some fascinating facts about ants before moving on to the discussion about the ways of ants.

Few remarkable facts about ants 

The number of species:

Around the world, there are more than 12,000 different species of ants.

Size:

Depending on the species, the size of an ant can vary from 0.75 to 52 millimeters (0.030 to 2.0 in).

Weight:

Between 1 and 5 milligrams are typically the weights of ants.

Size of an ant hill:

There are both small and large ant hills, as well as sizes in between. The Formicas are the ones who create the biggest ant hills. Their formica aquilonia mounds can be as tall as 2.5 meters (8.2 ft). Additionally, a single Formica polyctena wood ant’s nest can measure an astonishing 20 meters in circumference (65 ft). 

Carrying ability:

It has been proven that ants can carry weights that are 20–50 times heavier than their own body weight. A person could lift around 4,000 pounds (ca. 1,814 kilogram) if he could lift twenty times his body weight.

Stomach:

Each ant has two stomachs. Although it seems strange that such a small creature would require two stomachs, there is a reason behind it. Ants have two stomachs: one for holding and eating their food, the other for holding food they share with other ants.

Lifespan:

Depending on their gender and position in the colony, ants can live for a few weeks or many decades.

The number of brain cells:

An ant’s brain is thought to have roughly 250,000 brain cells, according to experts, and that amount is negligible in comparison to the estimated 86 billion neurons in the human brain. Ants’ brains are pretty powerful. They are frequently cited as the most intelligent insects in existence.

Do we still need to wonder why the scripture says, “Go to the ant…”? These creatures are wonderful. Though tiny, they do great things. There are indeed mind-blowing lessons from ants that we can learn.

Let’s proceed to the individuals who are instructed to go to the ants.

Who should learn from ants: Thou sluggard…

The instruction was given to the sluggard. 

Who is a Sluggard?

A sluggard is someone who is cowardly, slow to start important tasks, and lazy or idle out of habit.

Subtlety of slothfulness

It might be challenging for a person to admit that they are lazy because laziness affects various parts of life. It is possible to work hard in one area while being slack in another.

Because of this, some Christians work hard in their businesses but are spiritually lazy, while others work hard spiritually, but are slothful in their endeavors. We are instructed to go see the ant if we are in any way, shape, or form lazy.

Self-examination:

For us to learn from ants, we have to first ask ourselves some probing questions about our conduct.

Am I a Sluggard?:

• Am I a self-indulgent person?
• Do I procrastinate?
• Do I spend time on fruitless wishes?
• Am I discouraged by the least opposition?
• Am I fond of creating imaginary dangers for myself?
• Do I hate labor?
• Do I doubt my capabilities?
• Am I fond of spending time on useless activities?
• Do I enjoy sleeping so much?
• Are my incomplete projects numerous? (Always tired of finishing a task)
• Do I always have an excuse for not doing something very important?

We must be honest with ourselves when answering the above questions because sincerity to one’s self is a prerequisite for personal development.

Before I started studying this subject about the lessons from ants in the Bible, I had no idea that I was in any way a sluggard. But, I thank God who has given ants wisdom that I can learn from.

Now, let’s go! Let’s proceed to consider the lessons from ants.

10 lessons from ants in the Bible: Consider her ways,

What can we learn from ants? This tiny creature (the ant) is going to preach to us. Please, let’s pay attention because there’s a lot to learn from them. She instructs us through actions rather than speech. We are therefore commanded to “consider her ways.”

1. Ants have little strength, yet they are hardworking.

Joel 3:10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

Lack of strength can not justify laziness. 

Ants are not the strongest members of the insect world, yet they lift weights about 50 times their weight. But the bible said that they are feeble.

Pro 30:25 The ants are a people not strong... (KJV)

Despite having limited strength, they continue to labor. Therefore, we must understand that:

• Every bit of power, no matter how small, is given for effort.
• You are not expected to do more than you are capable of. Learn to do that bit you can when you feel weak, and don’t consider it insignificant.
• An increase in strength comes from the use of strength (through usage, all power grows).

2. Your participation is still vital despite the activity of others.

The total population of ants on earth is estimated at around one quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000). This is more than any other living species, aside from microbes.

Most ant colonies consist of between 50,000 and 500,000 ants. Millions of ants may reside in some colonies.

Though there are many ants, they are all involved in the summer work.

Because you are unique in comparison to everyone else in the world, be sure to participate in any work for which you are qualified.

3. Ants are diligent.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

The ant’s unceasing activity, tenacity, and commitment to her summer mission are obvious.

Again, they impart wisdom to us. As long as the season persists, the ant never takes a break from her work.

Ants do not procrastinate. They get their work done when it should.

This person is a procrastinator. He does not intend to sleep for so long. But he always wants to sleep a little more. Just a little more sleep! (Proverbs 6:10). He doesn’t like to do something in the now, but always in the next few minutes, hours, or days. “I’ll do it later,” is his slogan.

A life of servitude to sin, the devil, or one’s own desires is not what a Christian aspires to. But the majority of the time, spiritual laziness and procrastination cause us to fall into sin. A spiritual sluggard thinks, “Just a bit more sin now and tomorrow I will repent,”. Laziness is one of the hindrances to spiritual growth.

4. Ants Understand times and seasons

1 Chronicles 12:32 And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment. (KJV)

This is one of the fascinating lessons from ants in the bible. They are creatures that have an understanding of the times, to know what to do. I believe that is why they need no guide, overseer, or ruler. (Proverbs 6:6-8).

When you begin to understand time and seasons, people will begin to be at your command.

Consider the cleverness with which ants choose and take advantage of the ideal season for preparation of inactivity. Ants work in the summer and rest in the winter.

Proverbs 6:7-8 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

Wisdom is using the right season for the right activity—doing the right thing at the right time. Both resting and working are good in themselves. But one of the things that differentiates a hardworking person from a sluggard is the timing of their resting and working. 

Opportunity is the bloom of time; once lost, it may never be found again. The ant maximizes her opportunities. We are to learn from ants to make use of opportunities.

• Just like these tiny ants, we also have winter. (More especially, the winter of eternity).
• Like these tiny creatures, we must get ready for winter.
• Just like these tiny creatures, we have a specific window of time to get ready for these ‘unfavorable’ seasons to come. Genesis 41:34-36

Jesus understood this when he said that he must do the work of him that sent him while it is day (John 9:4).

Ants are prudent and foresighted. 

Proverbs 22:3 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, 
and are punished.

The ants get ready for the coming season. They naturally possess the capacity to foresee the demands and severity of winter.

Proverbs 30:25 The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

Foresight confers the following advantages:

• It elevates a man and confers dominating influence on him. (Genesis 41:39-40) Whoever can see the farthest will rule the best.
• It teaches one to economize time and other resources. The person who thinks that he has the least to do spends the most time getting it done, whereas the person who “knows” they have a lot to do saves time. One, who knows that the winter is ahead, does not waste his food in the summer.
• Foresight lessens future challenges. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Foresight analyses and weighs contingencies.

For every life, there is a season of summer and a season of winter (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Are we making the necessary preparations in time for the winter, even the winter of eternity? He who fails to prepare himself has prepared to fail.

A man is said to be wise if he makes the most of his little time on earth to prepare for the coming winter of eternity.(Proverbs 22:3).

When the season of life has been spent in spiritual laziness or lethargy, imagine how miserable the winter of eternity must be. Let’s learn from ants and be wise.

5. Ants are not Lazy despite God’s providence

St. John 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

God provides for all his creatures. Even though God is in charge and genuinely cares about us, his providence shouldn’t serve as an excuse for laziness.

God uses the abilities that he has given His creatures to sustain them. He doesn’t step in to do what we are capable of. God doesn’t do for us what we can do for ourselves.

My friend once explained to me why he finds it annoying when students claim to have faith in God to aid them in their exams. He told me that because they believe that God will help them, these folks are always lazy students. Should God’s providence cause us to become lazy?

6. Ants exhibit love and unity among themselves 

Ants take good care of one another and cooperate to complete a task. This instructs us in the virtues of goodness, unity, and love

Their innate urge to help one another in their hectic labors has been praised as one of the most fascinating examples of animal wisdom. 

Biologically, each ant possesses two stomachs despite their small size. This is not because they are greedy. One of the stomachs is for the ant to store food for herself. The other stomach is to share food with others. Isn’t that amazing? It’s worth learning from ants.

God’s favor upon us extends beyond our personal benefit. God benefits a man so that he can bless others, even though the laboring husbandman is required to enjoy the fruits first (2 Timothy 2:6).

7. Ants communicate effectively

For many years, researchers have understood that ants communicate via pheromones. They communicate with one another via this chemical.

Effective communication is essential. When communication is successful, everyone involved feels content and accomplished. Delivering messages clearly eliminates the possibility of misinterpretation or message modification, reducing the likelihood of conflict.

8. Ants are well organized.

This is something worth learning from ants. One of the most organized creatures in the world is the ant. They make sure to complete everything on their to-do list.

The colony structure of ants is extremely organized and effective, with the queen at the top and the workers below. Each of the ants performs a specific task within the colony, such as foraging, maintaining nests, reproducing, and taking care of the young.

We have to understand that the little things add up to a significant difference. So, do you know that how you manage your time might have an impact on how well your work turns out?

9. Ants always stay positive.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Despite any challenge they may face, ants never give up. This teaches us the value of tenacity. The power of perseverance is unbeatable.

A sluggard wastes his time making pointless wishes. The slightest opposition demoralizes him. He puts himself in imaginary danger.

As for ants, they don’t shy away from challenges. They are always positive. Staying positive is crucial. It aids stress management and also enhances the feeling of happiness and general life satisfaction. 

10. Ants are self-motivated.

Proverbs 6:7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

This is also one of the lessons to learn from ants in the bible. They have no overseer, yet they get their jobs done. No external motivation, yet they work hard. We have to learn from ants to be inwardly motivated.

Motivate yourself to get that job done!

The definition of self-motivation is best shown by ants. They don’t wait to be pushed. They continue to accomplish their goals without offering any justification.

They can move, perform their tasks, and cooperate without needing to be whipped. They are also self-disciplined and natural leaders, so they do not require a captain or a leader.

To do the necessary tasks, one must be self-motivated because one may not always find outside motivation. Self-motivation is what drives you to continue, whether you’re tempted to give up or are just unsure of where to begin.

Here is one of the spiritual lessons from ants about prayer. You don’t really need an external push before you should pray. Your prayers should not be limited only to the prayer meetings.

Conclusion: Be wise.

With the lessons from ants in the Bible, we have garnered some success principles. But what will it profit us if we fail to put them into action?

Wisdom is the ability to apply relevant knowledge insightfully, especially to different situations from those in which the knowledge was gained.

I would hope that we apply these lessons from ants in our businesses and our spiritual lives so that we can come to the fullest of what God wants us to be.

God’s grace!