MEERKAT!

  ‘Meerkat’ photo by Dusan Veverkolog on Unsplash.       

Are you over 18 and still live at home with your parents?  Don’t feel bad!  According to Pew Research Center, 18% of adults ages 25 to 34 were living in a parent’s home in 2023. And there are plenty of examples of animals and insects in the Book of Nature that live together in groups well after adulthood.  They even have a name for it!  It’s called ‘alloparenting’, where members of the family other than parents help care for their siblings. Meerkats (See photo), Acorn Woodpeckers, Elephants, Sperm Whales, Prairie Dogs, Ants, Bees and many others live in groups.                                                         

The Meerkat lives in a ‘mob’, groups of 3-50 in burrows underground.   They have separate toilet and sleeping chambers within their burrows.  These squirrel sized critters all participate in gathering food, caring for and teaching their babies and standing guard over their home.  They will take turns standing as a sentry on a hill or termite mound watching for predators especially from above like eagles, hawks and jackals, and warning others of the presence of danger.  Their burrows keep them safe from predators and out of the extreme heat of their habitat, the deserts and grass lands of the southern tip of Africa.
They are ‘extremely social’, show great teamwork and truly seem to enjoy each other’s company!   

See link below from Animal World:  Meerkats, ‘Desert Lookouts with Big Personalities’ to watch them in action.

Perhaps we can learn something from them about living together.  Certainly, it is apparent that they each share in the responsibilities of gathering food, baby-sitting, teaching their young and standing guard.  It appears that they don’t have to clean the toilet, unfortunately, we do!  If you do indeed still live at home as an adult, what can you do to help your household, ‘your mob’!  

God Himself apparently thought it was possible for people to live together in unity.  In fact, He said it could be a real blessing!

Psalm 133 says, ‘How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!  It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe.  It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.’  

And remember this!!!  ‘If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.’  2 Thessalonians 3:10. NKJV.

LIVE IN UNITY!