Proverbs 6:6-11

Work within God's created order

Good evening. Have you ever been amazed by the persistence of an insect or animal? Sometimes they seem to work on things with unfazed determination. I experienced this recently. Kayla and I have a wreath on our front door, and over the past few months, a spider has persistently created a perfect web right in the center of our wreath. Whenever Kayla sees it, she asks me to get rid of it. So I swirl something around in the web, not really wanting to kill the spider, but just disrupt the web so it doesn't come back. To mine and Kayla's annoyance, this little spider is simply doing exactly what God designed it to do, to spin web and gather food. In fact, all of creation has its intended purpose given by God. Tonight we continue our series on work by considering how creation itself is designed for work. The author of Proverbs 6 uses the example of an ant to display creation's purposeful design. Please follow along as I read Proverbs 6, 6 through 11.

Go to the ant, oh sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise. Without having any chief officer or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, oh sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man.

This is the word of the Lord. This passage can be divided into two sections. First, verses 6 through 8 show us the path of natural work. And second, verses 9 through 11 show us the path of sloth. Each section begins with a direct address to the reader, followed by an example supporting the address. With the path of natural work, the author exhorts the sluggard to observe the diligent work of an ant. And with the path of sloth, the author commands the sluggard to wake up and see the danger in sloth. The main idea of the passage can be stated this way. We must work within God's created order or poverty will capture us. We must work within God's created order or poverty will capture us. As we look closer to the passage, we will see how this main idea is illustrated with the path of natural work and the path of sloth. Let us first consider the path of natural work. The point here is to work with the grain of creation, not against it. In verse six, our attention is brought to the ant. from whom we can gain wisdom. The command here is simply to observe and be wise. Why is the ant helpful for our understanding of work? Verses seven and eight reveal that the ant's manner of work and simple act of work provide a wise example for us. Verse seven describes the manner of work. which we're called to emulate. Without a chief or overlord, we should naturally gather what we need to live. Work should be natural and uncompelled. Providing for your family should be something that neither the government nor your community asked you to do. It is something that you should naturally be doing as a Christian. Verse eight shows that work should consist in the simple act of gathering and preparing for the future. It is good to have seasons of preparation and seasons of gathering for our bodily needs. The wise person makes sure that all their needs are met. Even a creature as small as the ant knows that she must prepare for winter and gather when resources are available. We must do the same so that we're not caught off guard by life's inevitable hard times. By following the example of the ant, we diligently prepare for the inevitable hard times. This is the way God created us to live. We should be working with the order of creation, not against it. For the second part of the passage, our attention is brought to the path of sloth. The point here is to see the danger of laziness. The passage shifts in verse nine to a more direct warning about the danger of laziness. For the person rejecting the created order of work, he is commanded to wake up and see the danger of this path. Now, it's not always the case that poverty is the result of laziness. Sometimes people lose jobs, and sometimes people are born into poverty, and it's not their fault. But this passage is specifically addressing the danger of intentional laziness. The reason for this danger, the reasons are unveiled in verses 10 and 11. With inordinate rest, which is laziness, you'll find yourself trapped by poverty. This is described with the combative language of an armed man. Want and poverty will grip and arrest you, preventing you from living life in its fullness. I personally have never experienced poverty in the fearful reality of not having enough food, but I have heard it described as an all-consuming experience. If you're poor and do not have enough to eat, your life becomes solely focused on gathering food and meeting the necessities that you need. Your relationships with family and friends might suffer as you go to them for help, and the other enjoyable parts of life become forgotten in the tunnel vision for necessities. Contrast this experience of poverty with the ant. The ant is able to rest in the dry season. The ant does not have to worry because she has prepared for her future needs. God does not want us to hunger and feel the assault of poverty. He wants us to prepare for the future. Unlike the all-consuming drive for food and shelter that poverty creates, diligent preparation for the future actually allows for a well-rounded life, a balance of time spent toward family, hobbies, rest, and church. Healthily working to prepare for the future is a God-ordained reality of life. As Christians, we must take seriously the danger and the path of laziness. Having considered the path of natural work and the path of sloth, the main point of the passage has hopefully come into greater definition. We must work within God's created order. Our poverty will capture us. We will now look at two ways that we can apply this passage. First, understand that work is a part of God's design, not a necessary evil. Instead of trying to work against the grain of creation by living idly or by cutting corners, we should value our work hours each day as a God-ordained reality of life. Redeemed work in this life means living like the ant. We may not always feel like we're doing something special or significant. However, when we diligently prepare for the future, we're living according to God's design, which is living worship. Our daily work continues the creational design of keeping God's garden. This passage instructs the way we view our work by showing us that we enjoy alignment with God's created order when we prepare for our future needs. Yet in our North American context, we run the risk of overvaluing our work and making it an idol. Our passage also provides guidance for this temptation to idolize work. Because work is a reality established by God and redeemed by Christ, we know that the pattern of work is ultimately a God-ordained reality, and it's not man-made. This means that we're not the authority of our work life. We do not create the fundamental reason for our work. God has already given pattern and meaning to it, with a time for rest and a time for gathering. Having this biblical view of work also builds trust in God. Just as God provides for the birds, the ants, the spiders, surely God will also provide for his children. We should not live with anxiety about possible future hardships. Rather, we should acknowledge that God will provide for our needs, and this provision happens most commonly through the created order of work. One of the questions and answers in the Heidelberg Catechism is particularly insightful in this point. Explaining the Lord's Prayer, specifically the fourth request for daily bread, the authors write,

what does the fourth request mean? Do take care of all our physical needs so that we come to know that you are the only source of everything good and that neither our work and worry nor your gifts can do us any good without your blessing. And so help us to give up our trust in creatures and to put trust in you alone.

This first point of application is all about having a biblical view of work, which impacts how we live. The catechism reminds us that God is the source of all good things, and that work is one of the means through which God blesses us. Work is not our attempt to provide for ourselves completely independent of God, And God's provision usually does not happen miraculously. Rather, our work is a kind of creational conduit of God's provision for our needs. When we view our work as designed by God, we gain deeper trust in God, a resistance against idolizing work, and a mindset of diligent preparation. Our second point of application is this. We must affirm the goodness in all jobs. Obviously, there are some jobs based on sinful practices, and these would be excluded from this point of application. But for jobs that are oriented toward the common good, we must acknowledge that no matter the prestige that society gives it, all work is valuable when completed to the Lord. This is especially counter-cultural. Farmers, plumbers, and janitors glorify God in their work just as much as pastors, lawyers, or doctors. Affirming the goodness in all jobs should provide assurance to the laborers that they are able to honor God in their work. Conversely, people who are working in a more socially prestigious job should feel a barrier to pride. God calls each person indiscriminately to fulfill the creational mandate of work. Applying this passage to our lives means that we worshipfully join the pattern of creation and affirm the goodness in all varieties of work. With the ant as our model, we should leave tonight feeling thankful for God's path of provision and aware of the danger of laziness. Will you pray with me? Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for this evening. Thank you for your word. Lord, we pray that we will live like the ant, that we will prepare for our future needs and trust in you, that we'll live thankfully for the way that you've ordered creation in our lives. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.