Wisdom is Togetherness!

Locusts have no king; they move together, they are wise. It is difficult for us to comprehend how ordinary locusts can be wise. What is the wisdom of these locusts, let’s understand a few graphic images again from the Bible. 

4, 5 If you refuse, tomorrow I will cover the entire nation with a thick layer of locusts so that you won't even be able to see the ground, and they will finish destroying everything that escaped the hail.

6 They will fill your palace, and the homes of your officials, and all the houses of Egypt. Never in the history of Egypt has there been a plague like this will be!' ".

 Ex 10:4-6 (Living)

 4 After the cutter-locusts finish eating your crops, the swarmer-locusts will take what's left! After them will come the hopper-locusts! And then the stripper-locusts too!   Joel 1:4 (Living)

If you ask a farmer here he will dread the locusts.

If he sees a single locust it is inconsequential but many locusts together are indomitable.

They are wise because they are united. They bring about destruction. So the learning for us is also to be united.

Can we be united?

These wise creatures destroy.  If we are united we can also destroy like the locusts. We can destroy what is evil. The beauty of diversity is best seen in collectivity; individually none of us can experience what we experience as a group.

Unity means a couple of small things, which are not so easy yet not impossible. What are they?

Common purpose- having one goal,

Understanding and communication with one another

Supporting and encouraging each other and finally, taking the responsibility for the work.

We need to come together for common causes more than ever today. We  need to look more at the cause than our own agenda.    

What can we destroy by being united? Yes we can destroy all that is evil and all the ideas which promote hate. This is a partnership effort. While taking the unity of the locusts we can go a step further to build love and compassion in our community.

We get strength from being together and it therefore important that we remain united and overcome evil with good.

Locusts are wise because of the partnership they share.

After the Ants no Anticlimax

How many of us are  familiar with the Coney? Some of you must be aware of them, however for those who don’t know about the conies,  I will take a moment to explain it to you . It is   also  called rock badger. The Coney is a small animal, which has no spines and camouflage or bad smell like the skunk, nor does it have sharp claws or teeth and lastly it does not have poison. It is the most vulnerable of the creatures. It has soft feet and chews cud.

Why are these defenseless animals wise? In today's world where  intelligence is measured by the firepower and nuclear power you possess  yet  here you have these defenceless conies being called wise. They are wise because they make their house in the rocks.

  

18 High in the  mountains live the wild goats and rocks form a refuge for the coneys..  Psalms 104:18 (Living)

When in trouble  the Coney goes to its house  the Rock. It is not easy to attack you when you are  house is a rock. A snake or a mongoose or other predators cannot harm it  in its house.

In times of trouble where do we go?  We generally think we have the power and can do things ourselves. We learn the hard way that were wrong and have no power.

Do we get comfort from rituals, astrology or superstitions?

Do we go to the rock or the sands?

The Bible  tells us who our rock is. 

2  The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
      my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
   He is my shield, the power that saves me,
      and my place of safety. Psalms 18:2 (Living)

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Matt 7:24 ( Living)

Where do we build our lives ?  on the Rock or Sands ?

Our foundation should be on the rock. Love Trust and Justice are important stones in this foundation. When you have  foundation on the rock you need not fear in times  of trouble.

The Conies are wise because of the protection they enjoy.

Four Little Creatures one by one!!

In a little village there once lived a boy who was supposed to be dull-witted.  The men of the village used to find great amusement in offering him a choice between a five rupee and a one rupee coin, of which he invariably chose the one rupee coin.  A stranger one-day saw him choose the one rupee rather than five rupee coin, and asked him for the reason.  "Is it because the one rupee is larger?" the stranger asked.  "No" was the response, "not because it is the biggest.  But if I took the five rupee coin, they would soon stop offering it."  

You would agree that the boy was not dull after all but quite wise.

Our elders and  parents usually  drill down the importance of becoming wise. Their obsession can sometimes drive even a sane person  to have doubts about herself/ himself.  My mother however used to make me read the book of  Proverbs  frequently and I found these verses  about  small creatures being exceedingly wise surprised me.  Lets see the verses 

 ²⁴There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:
   ²⁵The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
   ²⁶The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;
   ²⁷The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;
   ²⁸The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings' palaces.

Proverbs 30: 24-28 KJV

It intrigued me to think that an ant, lizard or a locust could be wise.

The word exceedingly is a superlative and I thought we could spend a few moments to understand why these animals are exceedingly wise.

I am sure you would also be curious to know why they are wise.

In fact we all want intelligence and wisdom since we have to contend with work, studies and different situations in life.

In the next few days I shall share a few thoughts about each of these exceedingly wise creatures. 

Let’s take quick journey as to what makes an Ant a wise creature.

Ants

Ants are creatures of small strength yet they store up food in summer. When you have plenty, you don’t really care for tomorrow. Summer is normally a time for holidays. Many of us go of on a holiday and take a break. We normally do not work in summer. The ants however are very hard working during summer. Can you picture that? They are storing up food for the winter. Winter's are generally cold and are unable to do any work. If there is no food we will starve and die.

Let us see what is said further about the ants:

6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy fellow. Learn from their ways and be wise!

7 For though they have no king to make them work,

8 Yet they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

9 But you--all you do is sleep. When will you wake up?

  Prov 6:6-9 (Living)

The key words are no ruler or king to make them work.

Do you really need your father to take off on you to study hard and work?

Do you need your boss to breathe down your neck and supervise you?

No one tells the ant that it should plan and store its food.

No one need tell us what to do,  we can learn from the Ant.

How do you ensure that the food will last for the winter?

1. You have to create a storage place
2. You have to see that it is secure from rats and thieves
3. You see that it has a proper lock
4. Ensure that there is no moisture or the grains would get spoilt

The granaries of the ants are generally 5 inches in diameter and half an inch high, several of these are interconnected and scattered over two yards in diameter and a foot deep in the soil.

They do not have locks but they must ensure that the grains do not get spoilt. They pluck the seed from the plant often from the portion called the head or radicle this is to prevent the seed from germinating. They next remove the   outer covering or chaff and even put the seed in the sun to dry.

This friend is a simple example of forethought.

People without strength, by diligently working together, rise to positions of great strength.

What do we have to do?  What does Jesus say? What is the foresight we need?

³³ “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. ³⁴ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be..  Luke 12:34 (Living)

Take the example of Noah:

7 Noah was another who trusted God. When he heard God's warning about the future, Noah believed him even though there was then no sign of a flood, and wasting no time, he built the ark and saved his family. Noah's belief in God was in direct contrast to the sin and disbelief of the rest of the world--which refused to obey--and because of his faith he became one of those whom God has accepted.  Heb 11:7 (Living)

It would have sounded really stupid to build a ship on dry ground actually on a hill.

Noah trusted God and he had the foresight to work hard in his summer and then be saved from certain death,

If we want to put away economic strangulation and death we need to work hard.

   

Ants are wise because of the preparation they make.

How can we be wise to use our life and prepare for our salvation?