Be an Ant of God
“Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:20-21
I do not know about you, but I think ancient writers get a bad rap sometimes. I find myself reading many more modern authors than I do ancient ones. C. S. Lewis encouraged people to read one old book for every three new ones (Introduction to On the Incarnation). I have taken that advice to heart.
A lively “old” writer that I have come to love is St. Augustine. He was not only a bishop in North Africa, but also a gifted writer and theologian whose voice still affects us today. There is a winsomeness to his preaching that I find particularly beautiful.
This is from one of his sermons: “Emulate the tiny ant; be an ant of God. Listen to the word of God and hide it in your heart. Collect plenty of food during the happy days of your spiritual summers. You will then be able to endure the difficult days of temptations during the winters of your soul.”
Sermon 38, 6
That sermon could be preached at Family Table, Riverway, or in The Church. It is simple and yet profound. I guess that is why he is a saint.
It is human nature to compare ourselves to others. We can’t help but look at our friends and neighbors and see how we match up to them, but that constant comparison also brings a lot of jealousy into our lives. Maybe instead of trying to keep up with the Joneses, we can emulate the tiny ant who goes about its work quietly, yet faithfully. It builds up its reserves for the days of scarcity and shares what it finds with the larger colony. In this case, we look to one of the least in the animal kingdom to show us how we can be more faithful Christians.
