Work is Good

By Karen Noal

Teaching Goal:  God wants us to work and not be lazy.

Scriptures:

Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; be wise and consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

Proverbs 20:4 A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

Materials:

• Find an active anthill and/or use a video about ants. (Look for these videos or similar videos at your public library or on Youtube.)
• Nova “Little Creatures Who Run the World”
• “The Magic School Bus Gets Ants in its Pants”
• Sugar – spoonful to use with the anthill.

In Advance:  An hour before meeting, lightly scatter a teaspoon of sugar around an anthill. This will cause the ants to be active when you go look at them.

Preview the Nova video so that you have picked out about 15 minutes of appropriate parts: i.e. ants at work; ants with special tasks; or the commentator talking about the life of an ant.

NOTE: This activity is best done in warm weather when ants are active.

1. Play theme song
2. Pray
3. Review last lesson
4. Lesson and discussion

• Words written in bold are when the leader is speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

ACTIVITY #1: Read the two Bible passages from Proverbs. Can you guess what a sluggard is? Someone who doesn’t do any work. What is a more common word for sluggard? lazy. God wants us to work “like the ant.” What does it mean to work like an ant? The verse tells us that the ant does his work without being reminded and without anybody looking over him.

Watch a pre-selected portion of the Nova video and emphasize the following points:

1. Ants are good workers because they worker together as a team.
2. Ants are good workers because they live in extended families and share close relationships.
3. Ants are hard workers.

Watch part of the Magic School Bus video and emphasize the following point:

1. Ants have different jobs

ACTIVITY #2: Go outside and observe the ants moving the sugar. Watch how much they carry and how they stick with their work. Do you see any ants just hanging around or just watching? No, they are all busy. How does it make you feel when you are working hard and the person who is supposed to be helping doesn’t help? Maybe mad, it seems unfair. Continue to discuss the anthill and how all the ants work together. Do you see a boss or supervisor pointing them where to go and what to do next? The ants don’t need someone to keep reminding them of what they have to do. They do it without being told. God wants us to be like the ants so that we work hard and don’t have to always be reminded of what needs to be done before we do it. What other animals can you think of that store food so that they won’t go hungry? Squirrels are one.

ACTIVITY #3 (OPTIONAL): Take a trip to the local mall or walk around your neighborhood. Observe people working and those who are just hanging out. Who gets paid: the working person or the person who isn’t working? The person who works. What do you think the temptation might be for the person who has no money and wants something? He might be tempted to steal to get what he wants. Do you think that might be another reason God wants us to work hard, so that we won’t be tempted to do things we shouldn’t? Yes. What other things might a person be tempted to do if they are just hanging around and not being busy? Let children discuss things people do such as harass others or vandalize other people’s property.

ACTIVITY #4 (OPTIONAL): Consider buying a plastic “ant farm.” Observe the ants throughout the week and reinforce the lessons from this activity.

Memorize:

Don’t be lazy

Work like crazy!

 Close in Prayer