Wisdom for 2007
07/01/07 00:34
In Aesop’s fable of the Grasshopper and the Ant
we learn the lesson of preparedness. As you know the
Grasshopper frolicked during the summer months of
plenty while the industrious little Ant stored up
kernels of corn. One day the Grasshopper said to the
Ant, “Why not come and chat with me instead of
toiling and moiling in that way.”
“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and I recommend that you do the same.”
“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper, “we have got plenty of food at the present.”
Well, the story goes on telling us that the Ant went on his way continuing his work while the Grasshopper frolicked in the summer plenty. But during the winter the Grasshopper found himself starving to death while seeing the ants distribute their food that they had worked for all summer long. Then the Grasshopper knew that it was best to prepare for the days of necessity.
The warning God gives to the Israelites through the Prophet Amos is also befitting for us today. “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land –not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine for hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” (Amos 8:11,12)
According to the U.S. Census bureau there are over 300,000 reported church congregations for a population of 300 million. In other words we have, in the United States alone, a church congregation for every 1,000 persons. Thomas Nelson Publishers sold 12 million Bibles last year and they account for just one third of all Bible sales in America. They estimate that most individuals possess from three to ten versions of the Bible. Ministries flood the airwaves in both television and radio. The word is going out into the prisons, rest homes and hospitals. It’s possible that there isn’t a city within the U.S. that doesn’t have at least one church in it. Even if these statistics are off just a little bit –that’s still an abundance of the Word of God for everyone here in America. Today is the summer of plenty. Now is the time to gather and prepare for the winter of want. The question left to us is are we grasshoppers or ants?
“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and I recommend that you do the same.”
“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper, “we have got plenty of food at the present.”
Well, the story goes on telling us that the Ant went on his way continuing his work while the Grasshopper frolicked in the summer plenty. But during the winter the Grasshopper found himself starving to death while seeing the ants distribute their food that they had worked for all summer long. Then the Grasshopper knew that it was best to prepare for the days of necessity.
The warning God gives to the Israelites through the Prophet Amos is also befitting for us today. “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land –not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine for hearing the words of the Lord. Men will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” (Amos 8:11,12)
According to the U.S. Census bureau there are over 300,000 reported church congregations for a population of 300 million. In other words we have, in the United States alone, a church congregation for every 1,000 persons. Thomas Nelson Publishers sold 12 million Bibles last year and they account for just one third of all Bible sales in America. They estimate that most individuals possess from three to ten versions of the Bible. Ministries flood the airwaves in both television and radio. The word is going out into the prisons, rest homes and hospitals. It’s possible that there isn’t a city within the U.S. that doesn’t have at least one church in it. Even if these statistics are off just a little bit –that’s still an abundance of the Word of God for everyone here in America. Today is the summer of plenty. Now is the time to gather and prepare for the winter of want. The question left to us is are we grasshoppers or ants?
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