Ants

When I opened the pantry door, my heart sank.  There they were, millions of them it seemed, crawling all over a box of Raisin Bran.  They were having an absolute hay day!  Ugh!  As if the year of COVID weren’t bad enough, for some unknown reason, our house has been infested with ants this year.  In the bathroom.  In the kitchen.  The spice cupboard.  The pantry.  Every time I opened a door, it seemed I found more.  I grabbed some spray and annihilated the group that had found the cereal.  I hoped that would be the end of it.

 

Until it wasn’t.

 

A few weeks later, I opened up the china hutch to grab a wine glass.  More ants!  They had found a crystal sugar bowl that apparently was put away with sugar in it!  It was a party for sure.  

 

This time, I decided to tackle the problem in a different way.  Instead of spraying, I put out zillions of ant traps.  I followed their trail and placed them all along their path.  For several days, I just watched them carry away the “food” to their nest.  Then, one day they were completely gone.  

 

No sign of them since.  The whole ant debacle got me thinking.

 

The dedicated worker ants unknowingly made repeated trips back and forth for days carrying poison to their home, to their colony.  What they thought was food was just the opposite.

 

The ant traps, and their poison, are A LOT like our words.  

 

What are we picking up and carrying back to our homes, our neighborhoods, workplaces, and putting out on Social Media?  Are our words something that feeds others?  Builds them up?  Nourishes them and encourages them?  Or are our words poison?  Are they critical?  Negative?  Tearing others down?  If what we’re sharing with others is simply an unkind rant, whether it’s political or social or personal, perhaps we should stop and ask ourselves, “Am I just putting out ant poison?”  

 

Don’t get me wrong, I do think it’s vital that we share our struggles with others who are willing to listen and offer support.  Those are not the words I’m talking about.  I’m talking about words that destroy.  Words that do not bring life.  They bring death.  Death to hope.  Death to healing.  Death to community.  Judgmental words.  Unkind words. 

 

King Solomon who had a reputation as one of the wisest men who ever lived said, "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones (Proverbs 16:24). 


I hope and pray that we can all learn a lesson and think we before we speak.

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