Summer: A season of work - 12 August 2025
Ewald Schmidt
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8, NIV
In the cycle of nature, summer is an opportunity to work hard and provide for yourself or your family. In today’s Scripture, we are called to look to the ant as an example. Ants are not commanded to work and fill their food stores for the coming winter – they do it naturally. While the opportunity is available, they make the effort to store provisions because they know that winter, with its scarcity, is inevitably approaching.
As I write this, I am deeply moved by the challenging times we are currently facing. Many people in our communities are unemployed, not because they lack a work ethic, but because the economy is in such a state that even during the summer of their lives, they cannot find formal employment. Even here, we can learn from the ant. Each ant does not have their own pantry; instead, they work together to provide for the whole colony through the winter. I believe that those of us who are employed have a responsibility to consider how we can support those without jobs.
However, in the Scripture verse for today, the sluggard is addressed – the one who can work but chooses not to. The one who sits back and waits for others to take care of him. Proverbs has a lot to say about this. One of my favourite verses regarding this topic is Proverbs 20:4: “Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing.”
While we are in the summer season of our lives, we have the opportunity to work and provide for today’s needs. But we have also learnt from the ant that winter is coming. To prepare, we must save and make provision. We would be foolish if we lived only for today and failed to plan for tomorrow. Jesus said that we should not worry about tomorrow, for the Lord will care for us (Matthew 6:31). This illustrates two sides of the same coin: trust in the Lord and live fully for him, but also work hard today, and seize every opportunity that comes your way. Spend your money and use your talents wisely, for the expansion of the Lord’s kingdom.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the summer season in our lives. Thank you for the blessing of strength and opportunities to work. Help us to do our daily tasks with joy. Help us to save responsibly for the winter seasons in life, and teach us to be generous, and to help where others don’t have the same opportunities that we do. Amen.