Ants, conies, locusts, and lizards offer very significant illustrations of virtues everyone can apply to their life. These four animals also demonstrate how to escape the daily grind of excuse-making. These four diverse creatures share a common predicament: they are relatively small, fairly powerless, and easily destroyed. But these species continue to thrive because, for each, a particular virtue more than offsets their disadvantages: the ant is diligent; the cony is prudent; the locust is cooperative; and the lizard is helpful.
Let these interesting critters prompt you to take an unflinching look at challenges you face and perhaps at your tendency to avoid the hard questions, ignore the warnings of a friend, and deny criticism that could prove extremely beneficial. When you embrace your weaknesses or challenges rather than deny, ignore, or make excuses, you become wise. When you accept difficult truths, you have an opportunity to consider alternatives, to apply one of the four virtues that we examined this week—diligence, prudence, cooperation, and helpfulness—and to find a way to overcome your difficulties.
Using what you have learned this week, work hard at coming to terms with your disabilities—we all have them in some form or another—and avoid making excuses. Living beyond that daily grind starts when you embrace the truth. Then you have the opportunity to become wise.
From Living the Proverbs by Charles R. Swindoll, copyright © 2012. Reprinted by permission of Worthy Inspired., an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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