Anit-wise Motion

By Robin Steinweg –

Dead ant, dead ant, dead antdeadantdeadant (sung to the Pink Panther theme). This is what goes through my mind when I enter my bathroom these days. That and some questions: why? Why are these ants in the bathroom when there’s no food? They don’t even seem to be looking for food. They appeared a couple of months ago from under the molding; aimlessly wandering in odd-shaped loops, then out of sight again—a perpetual, purposeless motion. In the past, they came into the kitchen in orderly troops, heading for crumbs on the floor. Not this time. I tried natural extermination methods first, without success. We’ve battled ants every summer for years, but I never think to have poison in the house.

I finally bought some. They lined up for it like piggies at the trough, gorging themselves. Some drowned, some staggered a few steps and expired, others faithfully carried the stuff back to the nest (I assume). I felt satisfied after they’d been gone awhile. The poison worked as it had every other summer. But the other day I noticed one tugging on something. And another. I looked closely. They were hauling the corpses of their fallen comrades to the middle of the bathroom floor, where they dumped them and returned to the molding. This went on all day. Hauling dead ants almost to my feet and dumping them off, as if they knew what they were doing—like a scene from a horror flick.

By now you are wondering what the spiritual application is. So am I! And if you are wise enough to find one from these erratic ants, would you please post it in the comments below for the rest of us?

All I know is that the Bible says to observe ants in order to be wise. Without overseer or ruler, they prepare their food in summer and gather it at harvest time. They plan ahead. I’ve been caught in last-minute panics and in an unprepared condition times without number for lack of planning. Unexpected visitors, sickness, people calling and needing to talk—or ants in the house—have brought stress or embarrassment to me and my family because I wasn’t prepared. I hope to be wiser in this way starting now. I’ll observe the ants. Just maybe not the ones in my bathroom!

PRAYER: Lord, You are the great Planner of creation and eternity. You planned our salvation in advance. You planned good works for us to do. You have plans to prosper us and to give us a future and a hope. You are even now preparing a place for us in heaven. I ask You for wisdom to be a better planner, able to learn Your wisdom even from ants.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage” (Proverbs 21:5 NASB).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!