EAT THAT ANT.... Continued

Except Action is taken, one can only get ideas but they will eventually remain a dream. Taking action is changing dreams and ideas into reality. Thus, action transforms intangibles into tangibles. Without action my idea to write a book to motivate you could remain a dream in me till I forget it. Dreams are not unforgettable but if a dream is not realized in a short run, it still exists to impact the long run. You can realize these dreams by taking action to jot them down each time a new idea springs out of your thought. The ant would act anytime it feels like searching for food. It would search tirelessly for any smell of food particle till it finds it. The determination in your actions facilitates your ability to adapt, normalize and transform situations around you.

One motivational speaker said, money hides in people. It is true because only humans can take or give out money. So unless you solve problems for people, they won’t give out the hidden money to you. Likewise, unless you eat an ant, an ant’s quality cannot be found in you. This because you can only give what you have. Therefore, eat that ant so as to have its natural wisdom hidden in you. When people need that wisdom, only you can give it out because it is hidden in you. I watched a movie series “The Last Ship” where it got to the time that an antidote was injected into the people who had not been infected by the epidemic such that even they breathing out could cure someone affected. Although the ant may literally not be eaten, you can get its qualities imbibed in you by deciding to live your life in an ambitious, determined and a planned manner such that you can achieve your aspirations in a wise way.  The ant is tiny but its ways are mighty. So tactical with their ways crafty, they harvest the greatest bounty. They (ANT) Adapt, Normalize and Transforms the irony of their small size and work hard to store plenty food in a giant anthill. There is an ant quality in the nature of every one including you. If those who made it really made it through the right means, then they ate the Ant and unleashed its capabilities in them.

Chill but Don’t Freeze

Prosperity could be a test even as it is a blessing. God gives to us dependent on our ability to manage in the right direction. Sometimes without His intervention, success could be a diversion. But as Bill Peel noted, real men surely do pass the test.

A 43-year-old man who described himself as a successful professional still on his way up the prosperous terrace lettered to the Dallas Morning News that long hectic hours of work and several exploding relationships including a divorce had left him feeling unhappy with his life. “I feel am successful but not driving on the scenic route”, he noted. Many successful people may have similar or worse problems. Prosperity in itself could be much more difficult for men to deal with than adversity if one fails to realize that God gives us prosperity as a blessing and a test.

One retiring executive echoed in his observation that most people in their 40th year on this planet know that success is not only to enjoy, but can be downright hazardous to our health. He wrote, “I let my job eat out the centre of my life, leaving me only the crusts.” Reaching for the gold ring can destroy our health. Greed and selfishness can threaten our relationships. Most damaging of all, our love of success can replace our love for God. If we struggle with the blessings of success, how can we pass the test of prosperity? Scripture has some guidelines:

Appreciate God as the source of wealth

This runs counter to the way many men think. If asked the source of their success, about 90 out of 100 men may give answers like hard work, superior wisdom, business savvy, intelligence, even obedience of God’s laws. But all these reasons, however, place the source of prosperity squarely on man’s shoulders in contrast to (Deut. 8:17-18). Prosperity should be used to measure our worth but should rather make us extremely humble (1 Sam. 2:7). 

Enjoy but don’t trust it                                                                     

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1). When we rest our security on our personal wealth, we always become entangled in preserving it but that is something we cannot guarantee as men.  It is the intention of our Lord that we take pleasure in the gifts He has given us _ without guilt. When God grants wealth to any man, He enables them to enjoy and accept his lot and be happy in his work. This is guilt free life of wealth (Eccl. 5:19).   

Comprehend the dangers of prosperity

After reading this book, you will either become successful or aim for more success. However, realize by then that if God gives you prosperity, it is a test as well as blessing. Personal dangers to beware of include pride, superiority, self-deception, injustice, grief, anxiety and poverty of the soul (Job 12:5; Ps. 16:4; Luke 9:24).           

The fact is that every man needs others to help him see the blind spots in his life. It’s difficult for any of us to spot the creeping pride, the intrusive superiority, the initial withering of the soul that can occur as our eyes shift subtly from Jesus to wealth. There must be brothers in Christ around us around who lovingly remind us when our riches are eating us up. “Cast but a glance at riches and they are gone, for they will surely fly off to the sky like an eagle” (Prov. 23:4-5).

Be wealthy, be successful but simply be Godly:

A godly man in all circumstances shows love

In the manner ordained from above

An honest man who births a truthful son

Wouldn’t sin to accrue everything under the sun

A Godly woman is so faithful

Her sober heart so merciful

The Godly are oft successful

They live in a neighbourhood by ensample

Enjoying their blessings in a myriad_ so ample

visit next time for the rest