There is a tiny (really tiny) ant on my white kitchen countertop. What should I do? Should I leave it alone? If I don’t call it an it but instead call it a he or a she I am beginning to personalize her which colors what I will do. Should I get her to walk onto a piece of paper and then carry her outside? Should I give her a name? Naming will begin to anthropomorphize her and I will begin a relationship with Sally. Sally is very tiny. She will not harm anything in my kitchen. I don’t know of any diseases transferred to people from ants. But the issue is Sally, if left alone, will not stay alone. Soon there will be Albert and then Trina and Tommy.
My kitchen counter is a nice place for Sally. There is an occasional bread crumb, piece of cereal, or drop of jam to provide a feast for a family of ants. But I am god. I can determine Sally’s fate. I know she has some kind of thoughts because she shows fear. She flees when I place my finger in her path. How much does she think and feel? How precious is Sally’s life in the grand scheme of the universe?
How precious are our lives in the grand scheme of eternity? We are not its. We have names and there is a plan for us. Or are we victims of my self aggrandizement? Paul did write, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” So we are more than ants! We are His sons and daughters – princes and princesses of the universe.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 11, 2016
PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
rogerbothwell.org