January 2002

On a recent visit to Bristol Zoo there were some spectacular sights on offer. Fantastically-coloured fish, prehistoric-featured iguanas, red pandas, exotic toads - not to mention some fascinating human beings!

But what impressed me most were the ants - leafcutter ants to be exact. The leafcutting ant is incredible. It has one of the most complex social structures in the animal world, even amongst its relatives. The leaves the leafcutting ants carry to their nest are 30 times their weight, a feat equivalent to a person carrying a bulldozer. They build mounds containing 350 cubic metres of soil, right above an underground city of three thousand chambers and four million ants.

In Proverbs 6:6-11 Solomon uses the example of the ant to shame the sluggard. The ant in view is probably the harvester ant. These live in arid or semi-arid parts of the world. If the lazy man stirred from his bed, he would be able to go and see a community of tiny creatures with a lesson to teach him. Rebellion against God has so degraded man that now the prince of all creation has to learn wisdom from the ant!

This is not the only occasion in the Bible where man comes off poorly by comparison with the animals. In the days of Noah the animals knew what they had to do, whereas the people resisted Noah’s warning call. Many generations later the LORD tells Judah: The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider (Isaiah 1:3).

To draw attention to this passage is not to imply that most ‘Grace’ readers are lazy and need to work harder!  Rather I want to highlight two, even three commendable features in our six-legged friends which we would do well to reproduce in our churches:

1. Organisation
A colony of ants usually comprises several castes. Most colonies have only one queen, but sometimes there are two or three, especially in large colonies. Other castes include nursers, workers, and soldiers. These are all essentially workers, but they have specialised jobs and are of different sizes.

This echoes the New Testament teaching about the church as the body of Christ in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Many members, various functions. All involved, working together for the good of the body. Each needs to know what they should be doing and their respective roles made clear.

It is not ‘unspiritual’ to be well-ordered. The Holy Spirit grants administrative gifts so that the church may be well organised, 1 Corinthians 12:28.  Such gifts should not be despised. God is a God of order. Paul writes of the Colossians that he was delighted to see how orderly you are (Colossians 2:5 NIV).

The Lord Jesus had to be firm in asserting the agenda and priorities of his ministry. He was an organiser. He led a team of men. He made sure they knew what was expected of them. He took great pains to reassure and explain how they would manage in his absence.

2. Initiative
Having no captain, overseer or ruler (Proverbs 6:7). The sluggard always needs prompting!  ‘He waits for it, resigned and defensive’ (Derek Kidner). No one can assume anything of him. He cannot safely be entrusted with any responsibility.

Too often the assumption Christians make is ‘Someone else will go’, ‘Someone else will do it’. It may be the visitor who needs to be made welcome; it may be a mess that needs to be cleared up; or someone who needs a visit at home. People who help without prompting are a great blessing in the local church! Be ready in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV).

Much of the work in ant colonies is apparently performed without direct communication. In these instances, ants take cues directly from the tasks themselves. For example, the collapse of a passageway will induce certain ants to repair parts of the damage, while other workers respond to later cues to step in and complete the job. The ability of ants to respond directly to tasks avoids attracting huge numbers of workers to participate in a task that requires only a few.

How much less burdensome the task of the elder or pastor would be if church members saw a need and then offered themselves to meet it! How blessed the fellowship where the oversight encourages an ethos in which people feel they can show initiative in meeting needs, solving problems etc.  Be ready in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2 NKJV)

3. Planning ahead
It stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest (Proverbs 6:8)

Harvester ants ensure a continuous food supply by collecting seeds and storing them in special underground chambers for use when other types of food are scarce. Worker ants use their mandibles to collect seeds and carry them into the nest. Other workers, located in chambers that are close to the surface of the ground, remove the seed's outer husk and carry it outside. Next, workers transport the inner, nutritious part of the seed to a deeper chamber that is reserved for storing seeds. If a seed is damp and at risk of rotting, the ants carry it to the surface and wait for it to dry before bringing it to the storage chamber. A large nest of harvester ants may contain enough seeds to fill several cups.

Detailed planning for the future in a prayerful and humble spirit is vital for the church’s well-being. This is especially true in the matter of continuity in leadership. It is good if the church is being provided for now and people are being fed, but what is being stored up for the longer-term future? Who is being trained up to fill the shoes of existing leaders? Are we praying that God will raise up from today’s children leaders and preachers for the next generation?

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