Ants and Badgers, Locusts and Lizards
A favorite Scripture for today:
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise:
the ants are a people without strength, yet they provide their food in the summer;
the badgers are a people without power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
the lizard can be grasped in the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.”
(Proverbs 30:24-28)
The author of this proverb, one Agur son of Jakeh, sees things that most people glance right by. He sees the weak ant having enough to eat even through a desolate summers, the badgers craftily slinking to make their homes among the rocks. He sees the leaderless locusts march as if choreographed, and the charming lizard using his desirability to move up in the world, even to royal palaces.
All of these creatures, Agur says, are “small, yet exceedingly wise.” What would it mean to take that as a motto for our lives?
We all go through times of feeling completely inadequate to the task before us. Whether it’s writing a paper for class, the incomparable scary feeling of mounting the pulpit to speak a word that may become the Word of God for another’s life, or the growing recognition I will soon be a papa, I feel small when compared with the enormity of the tasks I face. And no doubt you feel that way sometimes too, no matter your daily tasks. There are days when each of us feels as if we simply cannot be the people God has made us to be, cannot do what lays before us.
And yet the ant, the badger, the locust and the lizard are all far more capable than they appear. Why? Because they are wise. They are resourceful. They know how to manage their unique gifts well, which more than compensates for their inadequacies.
You might even say that because they have certain shortcomings, they are more capable than they would be otherwise. Suppose the ant had strength: perhaps the strong ants would use their strength to their own benefit, while the weak ants would die off. Suppose the locust had a king: perhaps then they would gripe against the king instead of knowing how it was absolutely necessary for them to work together. Suppose the lizard were bigger: it would then be viewed as a threat instead of a charming pet, and so rather than making it into palaces, it would be hunted and killed. With these animals, the fact that they have weaknesses makes them capable of success.
Perhaps it is the same for us Christians. After all, we in the Western church can maintain the illusion that we have no weaknesses, that “every advantage” is given to us. We have freedom of religion, adequate finances to reach out to everyone around us, and are the heirs to a great tradition which values critical thinking. We of all Christians should be strong and seeing the Kingdom of God come to Earth. Yet we must face the fact that it is those who ought to be weaker who are indeed stronger. Perhaps it is true that “God’s power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are exceedingly wise:
the ants are a people without strength, yet they provide their food in the summer;
the badgers are a people without power, yet they make their homes in the rocks;
the locusts have no king, yet all of them march in rank;
the lizard can be grasped in the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.”
(Proverbs 30:24-28)
The author of this proverb, one Agur son of Jakeh, sees things that most people glance right by. He sees the weak ant having enough to eat even through a desolate summers, the badgers craftily slinking to make their homes among the rocks. He sees the leaderless locusts march as if choreographed, and the charming lizard using his desirability to move up in the world, even to royal palaces.
All of these creatures, Agur says, are “small, yet exceedingly wise.” What would it mean to take that as a motto for our lives?
We all go through times of feeling completely inadequate to the task before us. Whether it’s writing a paper for class, the incomparable scary feeling of mounting the pulpit to speak a word that may become the Word of God for another’s life, or the growing recognition I will soon be a papa, I feel small when compared with the enormity of the tasks I face. And no doubt you feel that way sometimes too, no matter your daily tasks. There are days when each of us feels as if we simply cannot be the people God has made us to be, cannot do what lays before us.
And yet the ant, the badger, the locust and the lizard are all far more capable than they appear. Why? Because they are wise. They are resourceful. They know how to manage their unique gifts well, which more than compensates for their inadequacies.
You might even say that because they have certain shortcomings, they are more capable than they would be otherwise. Suppose the ant had strength: perhaps the strong ants would use their strength to their own benefit, while the weak ants would die off. Suppose the locust had a king: perhaps then they would gripe against the king instead of knowing how it was absolutely necessary for them to work together. Suppose the lizard were bigger: it would then be viewed as a threat instead of a charming pet, and so rather than making it into palaces, it would be hunted and killed. With these animals, the fact that they have weaknesses makes them capable of success.
Perhaps it is the same for us Christians. After all, we in the Western church can maintain the illusion that we have no weaknesses, that “every advantage” is given to us. We have freedom of religion, adequate finances to reach out to everyone around us, and are the heirs to a great tradition which values critical thinking. We of all Christians should be strong and seeing the Kingdom of God come to Earth. Yet we must face the fact that it is those who ought to be weaker who are indeed stronger. Perhaps it is true that “God’s power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor 12:9)
posted by Rev. Michael Jordan at 4:57 PM
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