Daily Proverb: What Ants Can Teach Us About Purpose, Work Ethic, and Freedom

Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work. Proverbs 6:6–7 NLT

One of the fascinating things about nature is how, if you stop and observe, insects and animals are on a mission from dawn to dusk. It’s a beautiful thing to know why you exist and live each day with that purpose in mind. Marcus Aurelius once wrote, “Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants, and the spiders, and the bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?”

Why don’t we run toward what our created design demands of us? Why do we wake up and take the precious, expiring moments of the day for granted? Why do we dread life and remain unsatisfied with the abundance we’ve been given? Why do we waste lives filled with possibilities? When plagued by the disease of entitlement, we are blinded by envy, and our minds become polluted with the false belief that blessings are handed to us rather than earned.

Dwight D. Eisenhower put it best: “Freedom is only the opportunity for self-discipline.” Entitlement leads to laziness and locks us in a prison of pity. The key to breaking free is discipline and a strong work ethic, seizing each day and truly living. Just as ants don’t need a leader to force them into their purpose, your success doesn’t have to depend on any person or circumstance. You were created for a purpose, and let that purpose fuel you. Be self-motivated to live up to your calling!