“Earn a good reputation and don't lose it” (10 mins.)
Ruth, out of loyal love, always put the well-being and health of others before her personal desires. Out of loyal love, he accompanied and did not abandon Noemí, even if this meant leaving everything behind. Orpá, who was also very sorry for what Naomi was suffering, returned to the city, where her life was.
Also, Ruth did everything Naomi asked about Boaz when she herself could have wanted or had other more ambitious feelings. However, she felt joy in doing good for others and seeing their happiness. This made him earn a good reputation and not lose it. She was considered a wise, sincere, humble and loving young woman.
Ruth did very good things for everyone, not just Naomi. And this was valued and seen by many people. In the same way as Ruth, we must watch over the well-being, for the good of others and do good things. In this way, we will also be building a reputation by which we will be known, and if we always continue to do good, we will maintain it.
And just as Ruth was known as a woman of good standing, so we will be known as well. And most importantly, Jehovah is looking at our actions and why they are motivated, whether or not it is out of loyal love. If so, we will certainly receive many blessings like Ruth.
LET'S READ: Ruth 3:10.
“He said to her: “May the Lord bless you, my daughter. The loyal love you are showing now is even greater than the one you showed the first time, because you have not found yourself a young man, rich or poor.”
Ruth demonstrated loyal love on many occasions and moments in her life publicly and with great gestures. Boaz was referring in this verse specifically to two great acts in which it is clearly reflected that Ruth did very good things for others, she looked after them before herself.
We refer to the first decision to abandon everything and accompany Naomi back to her land, who, perhaps, could no longer offer her what a woman her age at that time was looking for. Moreover, she would abandon her life to go to a land where she would be like a foreigner.
The second big decision was to listen to Naomi and do as she suggested. Naomi could have looked for any other type of younger man, her age, both rich and poor. However, she wanted to do what Naomi recommended, for herself and for her late husband as she wanted to perpetuate Naomi's late husband's name in her homeland. This altruism of Ruth was seen by Boaz as we see in this week's illustration and it brought her many blessings.
Naomi and Ruth never lacked food, as we also see in the illustration, as Ruth always earned sustenance for herself and her mother-in-law with her work, humility and loyal love, enough and a little more for both of them, but more than that. Ruth was known as an excellent woman in every way. A stranger from the moment she arrived in Israel with Naomi, to a well-known, excellent woman with a good reputation.
LET'S READ: Ruth 3:11.
“And now, my daughter, do not be afraid. I will do for you everything you say, because everyone in the city knows that you are an excellent woman.”
These words of Boaz are not the result of chance but of Ruth's work and determination to do things well and respectfully. Ruth must have been deeply moved by Boaz's words and by being considered such an excellent woman. In fact, in the gesture he makes with his hand when he takes it to his heart as we see in the illustration, he reflects this same fact.
Ruth, who went to live with Naomi in a land with other customs and beliefs, made an effort to respect them, understand them and serve the same God that Naomi did, in Jehovah. He had a great desire to know and serve him. He adapted to a culture and customs that he did not know. He treated others at all times with respect and doing nice things for others.
If we imitate Ruth, we will also treat people with respect, even if they have different customs. We know that Jehovah is the only true God and we will never stop serving him. There are many people and brothers who serve God faithfully like us, but they have other customs because of the territory where they live. Imitating Ruth, we will know not only to respect them regardless of cultural aspects, but also to do good things for them and what they need, and we will be known as excellent people who put Jehovah and the interests of his people before our personal desires. This will earn us a good reputation.
A good reputation that does not go unnoticed in the eyes of Jehovah. He didn't do it with Ruth and he won't do it with each one of us. Jehovah never abandoned Naomi even though she thought and felt that he was against her, but neither did he abandon this fine woman Ruth. On the contrary, he noticed the good and beautiful qualities of Ruth and blessed her.
LET'S READ: Ruth 4:11-13.
“All who were at the gate of the city and the elders said: “We are witnesses! May the Lord grant the wife who enters your house to be like Rachel and Leah, from whom came the nation of Israel. May you prosper in Efrata and make a good name for yourself in Bethlehem. And that, with the descendants that Jehovah grants you through this young woman, your family may be as great as that of Pérez, the son that Tamar gave to Judah.” So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. He had intercourse with her, and Jehovah allowed her to become pregnant and have a son.”
Today we see them as something natural, but in the biblical times in which these stories were written, that a woman had a child was seen as a great provision and blessing on the part of Jehovah, and as a great desire on the part of every woman. .
Ruth was blessed by God with a son by Boaz, who eventually took her as his wife. Such was the repercussion and the blessing to Ruth for the loyal love that she showed in her life on numerous occasions that the women of Bethlehem blessed Naomi and praised Ruth for being better than seven sons.
These blessings that Ruth received for being an excellent woman kept happening, Ruth's son became the ancestor of a great king like David. Who in turn became, in the way we know and the Bible says, the ancestor of Jesus, as Matthew 1:1 says: "son of David, son of Abraham."
In fact, Ruth became one of the five women who appear in the biblical genealogy of Jesus along with Rahab, the mother of Boaz who was not an Israelite like Ruth. Ruth, a woman who is a biblical example to follow for her loyal love that led her to build a good reputation that she maintained and for which she was known as an excellent woman throughout the territory.
An example for us today, of a person who experienced important and very hard events in his life that did not prevent him from continuing to show love, loyal love and help others even with the problems he already had in his life and all the suffering that had to go through and endure. She always showed her best version, and sought the well-being of others.
What qualities do we want other people to see in us?
For sure we want to build ourselves a good reputation by which we are known. This we must build little by little based on loyal love, humility and sincerity. Helping others in whatever is in our power, opening our arms and heart. Surely in this way, we will be putting Jehovah first, we will be honoring and glorifying his name with our good deeds and in the face of others, we will be known as excellent people who can be trusted and supported.
An exercise suggested by the activity guide with this speech that we have just delivered is to make a list of the qualities that we would like others to see in us. So let's think, reflect and meditate on what words we want others to define or remember us, what qualities are these, what qualities we would like them to be and what are we doing to make us look like that, are we imitating the example of excellent wife of Ruth?
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