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The most important thing to ask a person you admire is for them to share with you the secrets that have made them who they are and for which you and perhaps many more others admire them for.
There are secrets the ant also possesses which when known, understood and applied, can go a long way to make you wise in your present while positioning you in a future that's full of possibilities.
That's why this book was written. Read it and apply the lessons taught. Learn to be an ant as you peruse its pages.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
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Be An Ant
A Guide For Personal And Corporate Leadership Development
BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 MunichMichael Divine
BE AN ANT
A Guide For Personal And Corporate Leadership Development
PREFACE
The ant is a wise insect and though small, can teach us a lot of lessons in leadership and life. This book is therefore inspired by the way the ant lives and how its way of life can enhance the way of life of any person or organization that seeks to be better at everything they do.
You will come across nuggets of wisdom that will direct your path towards a better future. I highly recommend that you take your time to peruse each chapter of this book and make a commitment to thoughtfully apply the lessons therein.
It is my prayer that the intended purpose of putting this piece of work together will materialize in your life. That purpose is to make you a better person and to establish in you a mindset of living a legacy.
I welcome you into the world of the ant and it is my hope that by the time you read the last word of this book, you would have become an ant yourself.
PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
WISDOM
The ant is mentioned only twice in the Proverbs of Solomon. And each time it was mentioned, it was associated with wisdom. The Proverbs of Solomon was written in order for the reader to know wisdom (Proverbs 1:2). Wisdom is difficult to define, but easy to identify because it shows itself in certain qualities. When the queen of Sheba visited Solomon, the scriptures state that she saw “the wisdom of Solomon” (2 Chronicles 9:3). Solomon evinced certain qualities which evidenced his wisdom. And that is the way of wisdom-it is through certain manifestations that one can tell that wisdom is in operation.
THE MANIFESTATIONS OF WISDOM
In order to identify the various ways by which wisdom is manifested, it would be prudent to look at the first and great cause of all things, God whom by the scriptures is revealed as the Creator of all things. In Proverbs 3:19, we understand that "The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth…” If it was indeed by wisdom that God founded the earth, then a careful look at the creation account would suffice in throwing light on how the creation of the earth and all things made manifest the wisdom of God.
PURPOSE
Purpose is the first manifestation of wisdom. It was through purpose that all things were created by God. It is for this reason that all created things have a reason for being. Out of the realms of eternity, God purposed to create space, material and time and as part of the material He created, He made the earth upon which He created all other living things, including man.
It goes therefore to show that while science may dispute the fact of intelligent design, the incontrovertible proof is that the existence of all things could in no wise have been the result of an accidental cause but one that was deliberately carved out from the deep recesses of the intent of a great designer who with a well thought out plan and purpose brought into existence all that can be seen and unseen. This intelligent design as seen in creation could be the doing of an intelligent designer and no designer, much more an intelligent one will create without purpose.
A person of wisdom also walks and works with a sense of purpose. He has understanding into the purpose of time and so by discernment of same makes good and judicious use of it since he knows that there is a purpose to every time under the sun. We see in the creation account that God determined what to create on each day. He was purposive in that it was not until the sixth day that He created the man since by then, the earth was habitable enough for the crown of all His creation to exist. He did so because just like the children of Issachar, being discerning of the times and understanding the seasons, He knew what to do at each turn of the creative process- And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…. 1Chronicles 12:32
Purpose, while being the fount from which time, space and matter issued, is also made subject to time so that when a man has understanding into time, he lives by purpose. And when a man lives by purpose because of his understanding of time, that man is considered to be displaying wisdom. Moses in Psalm 92:10 sang this refrain- So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Solomon also in being philosophic after having lived a full life and looking back on all that he had experienced therein, stated thus- a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment. Paul also wrote these words to the saints in Ephesus that by redeeming the time, they will prove themselves to be wise- See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16
A life led without purpose is one that full well indicates the absence of wisdom. And such a life is one that fails to make proper use of time to its advantage.
It must be without equivocation stated that man does not derive purpose from within but from without. He lives to fulfill the purpose of the Great Designer- God. But it is his discernment of time that helps him to do so. In John 9:4, Jesus said these to His disciples- I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. The Lord demonstrated His discernment of time and hence His wisdom by making it known to His disciples that the fulfillment of His assignment which is the purpose for which the father sent Him into the world was tied to the time called “day’.
The wisdom of the ant is seen in this wise also, that it knows when to gather its food and so does so with purpose when that time comes.
A wise man lives with a sense of purpose. He will attend to his affairs with a sense of duty, knowing very well that his duty is to do the will of the one who sent him and to finish it. Having a sense of awareness concerning the purpose of existence proves that one is manifesting wisdom.
VISION
The next manifestation of wisdom is vision. It is having a clear mental picture of what end you seek to attain. Vision is a product of light. Without light, one cannot see, whether physically or mentally. And so before God would begin creating the earth, He first had to command that light appeared. The reason many people walk without any vision is that they have no light. They walk on in darkness and cast off restraint because light hasn’t yet dawned upon them regarding who they are and what end they must attain.
It is true that one can carve a vision for themselves and work at it in order to attain a level of accomplishment in life, but a true vision must be carved out of the light shed upon one’s heart or mind by their Creator. David in Psalm 36:9, “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” To wit, since God is the source of all life, it must then be in His light that we see light. If our vision will amount to much, not only in time but also in eternity, it must be a product of God’s vision. And God’s vision for creation is expressed in the book of Revelation 4:11-“for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Within that light, man then sees his light as is spelled out in Genesis 1:26- “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and overall the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
What we see therefore is that, in God’s light (His pleasure or will), man must have dominion over all things God has created. If man’s vision fails to find its place in God’s will, that vision no matter how plausible it may appear, will fail the test of eternal impact.
There was a time when under the mighty hunter Nimrod, men had a vision of building a tower on the plain of Shinar whose top reached into the heavens. The intended purpose for the tower was so that they wouldn’t be scattered across the face of the earth. But that wasn’t the will of God for man. It was God’s will that man would have dominion over the whole earth and so no matter how well-intentioned their plans were, it failed to situate itself in the light of God.
Any vision you have for your life must find traction or draw inspiration from the vision of God for creation. You live for Him and so must see from His perspective if you will live well for Him.
FOCUS
Focus is a product of purpose and vision. When one identifies the end they envisage, they are then able to give attention to that end. God in His omniscience, knows the end from the beginning. Whereas the state of the earth before the light was called forth was bizarre, God’s focus was not on what could be seen in that instance, but on what was meant to be seen in the end.
He was therefore not moved by the formless and void situation of the earth. A person of wisdom is not easily distracted. They know how to center their attention on what truly matters in the face of the many distractions of life. A story is told by Jotham, the son of Gideon about certain trees who were called upon to reign as kings and that story goes this way- The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us.
But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?
