The Nation Awaits the Generation that will do the Work
Disputes over who will lead, and how they will rule , for how long and how resources will be shared can be so engaging that we can mistake this for progress. But the Bible warns about noisy twittering and fanciful pleasures that are the pillars of the slothful and foolish.
Pro 6:6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
The ant is a silent worker but an effective builder, collaborating without strife – with minimal supervision. When we observe developed cities and admire working rail, underground metro, domestic gas networks, good roads … we can forget that these were all built and continue to be maintained – until you take a leisurely stroll and note continued repairs, construction and maintenance of pipes, roads, wiring and infrastructure going on quietly. We soon understand that there are institutions that propel order and ordain a quiet and disciplined industry that guarantees a future thriving civilization of “ants”. The ant works quietly to gather provisions in the hot summer, preparing for the supplies that will sustain it through its winter seasons. We learn from the ant that our industry today defines our rest and survival for tomorrow. We are enjoying or paying for our actions over previous decades and what we do today determines the tomorrow of our nations.
In life, we provide for death; in time we provide for eternity … how we deal with today’s trials will determine outcomes of future judgments. In summer the weather is warm and ideal for rest …it is too sweaty to work, yet the ant works not for pleasure. The grasshoppers sing and dance noisily from place to place in the summer …they enjoy the fun in the sun but they will all perish in the winter. The ant on the other hand has a collaborative culture of hard work (not talk and song) that stores for a future generation without being pushed or governed to do so. There are some broad points.
Government, supervision and regulation can be over-sized, burdensome and though with good intentions, these will need to self-destruct or downsized significantly in many areas before any meaningful good can happen. People instinctively do not need to be governed to thrive. Models embracing small government, privatization and lean purposeful oversight structures enable better quality institutions and productivity over time.
Underground metro lines, electricity distribution networks, gas pipelines and monetary /other institutions do not just happen, they are built through sustained disciplined efforts. A nation that prefers strong-men to institutions will soon discover that superior de-bottlenecked processes that motivate industry in the populace goes much farther than a super genius pushing the best ideas.
Excess debate, taskforces and repetitive unproductive planning are like the cheap songs of the grasshopper. The cupboards of many regimes are full of excellent reports. A small bridge built over a pond in a village is of far more value than a fantastic but unimplemented city-of-the-future.. Implementation is always the bane of the best initiatives …and good implementation of few imperfect ideas takes us much farther ahead.
The grasshopper perishes in the winter not because it has good or bad leaders but because the work that should be done was not done. No one reengineered, none built, no one stored because it was too difficult and uncomfortable and troubling to do so. Leaving the status quo as-is guarantees the expiration of the grasshopper. The grasshopper is engaged with many other silly things. To change our nation … we (not just leaders) must completely reexamine the things that engage our time.
The work never disappears… rather it waits for the generation ready to build the infrastructure. It does not matter that the grasshopper prefers to prance about in the bountiful summer like she had it all …she will still come to the realization that the work that should have been done was not albeit that it is already too late. King Solomon warns that winter seasons come to all … both ant and grasshopper. Every nation is occasionally struck by adverse winds and cycles threatening resources.
The ant survives because it has a culture lavish in silent hard work and industry in building to guarantee tomorrow. There is no time for disputes or songs of self-praise because the ant senses the urgency to preserve itself for the future. The grasshopper generation is not just noisy, but cannot and will not build anything because it just does not seem necessary …rather noisy chirping, talk, and mirthful entertainment to enjoy the summer fills its days.
Even if billions of dollars are poured by foreign investors into a grasshopper generation that does not believe in work and robust fair institutions, they will still stupefy the ant in the wastage as most of it seeps through the leakages into pipes that transport the funds to offshore havens designed uniquely for the slothful grasshopper.
The winter tests the robustness of institutions and the adequacy of storage. The nations that are like the quiet ant that built and stored actually get stronger in the winter as the wasters will come to them with their last savings which quickly dissipates. May God help us to “ go to the ant…”
A.W. Tozer said … “Our strength and safety lie not in noise, but in silence.”
