One of the very first stories I ever read was the tale of the lazy grasshopper and the industrious ants. He played all summer and they worked all summer. Eventually winter came and the winds howled and the ants were snug in their home with lots to eat. Poor lazy grasshopper shivered at their door and they generously took him in. As a child I wondered about the lesson from this story. It seemed to me I could be like the grasshopper and play instead of working because someone would help me when I needed it. My school teacher father assured me that was not the point. We were to be like the ants so we could not only care for ourselves but be heroes and rescue stupid Mr. Grasshopper. While I loved and trusted my dad I was never so sure. It seemed to me the grasshopper won.
What I did not understand as a child was one’s needed sense of worth and esteem. One of life’s very important needs is to be able to look in a mirror and have respect for the person we see. If one has never really worked and has consistently lived off the labor of others one cannot, in all honesty, feel the same about themselves as can the person who has toiled and been productive.
God made us in His image. He is extremely productive. He is a creator. He desires for us to be fruitful and to multiply the labor of our hands and minds. Paul certainly understood this when he wrote in Ephesians 2:10, “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” As His sons and daughters we will be most happy when we are like Him.
Written by Roger Bothwell on March 17, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org