The Good is the Enemy of the Best

Synopsis     Ruth 3:3-13     8/5/2018

On Naomi’s advice, Ruth washed and perfumed her body. Then, she went to the threshing floor in the middle of the night. And, then she crept near to Boaz and asked that he extend his mantle over her. On Naomi’s behalf, Ruth asked him to redeem Elimelech’s estate. And part of this was to raise up children with Ruth.

Who Is This Boaz?

So, I often wonder about Boaz. What was the deal? He’s a worthy guy. He seems to be a little older. But by all accounts, he seems to be industrious and hard-working. Additionally, he has accumulated some wealth. He has servants and workers that he pays. So, he seems like a perfect candidate for marriage. Yet, he also seems to be unmarried.

Curiously, at one point in the story he applauded Ruth’s loyalty in “not going after a young men, whether rich or poor.” So, it seems pretty clear that Ruth is significantly younger. And, it seems clear that he wouldn’t have blamed her if she had been seeking someone younger than Boaz to marry. So, there’s something that makes Boaz feel inferior. Maybe it’s merely a significant age difference. Or, maybe he suffered some physical deformity.

Whatever the case, Ruth looked past this barrier and remained focused on supporting Naomi. Additionally, she remained focused on fulfilling the process of redemption for her dead husband. This was stunningly virtuous. For Boaz, Ruth’s interest in marrying him was an act more loyal than even her decision stay with Naomi in the first place.

The Good is the Enemy of the Best

They say that, “the good is the enemy of the best.” And, there is clearly something to it. If my purpose is to consistently make excellent decisions that deliberately align with my goals and my calling, then there is little room for compromise.

Not that I can’t recover from a poor decision. But even a few poor decisions can make things a lot harder.

The problem is, the decisions often come in mundane packages. Like Lot from the Genesis story, the decisions I make have a cumulative effect. They set a trajectory for my life. So, I can easily do as most people do – I  can chose based on the common values of culture. That’s what Lot did. Or, I can look for God’s purpose in even my everyday circumstances and try to respond in harmony with that.

“Is not the whole land available? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.” Gen 13:9

Keeping the Things of God Real

Synopsis     Ruth 2:16-3:2     8/3/2018

As the harvest continued, Ruth stayed with Boaz’s workers. Night after night she brought an abundance of provision. But Naomi understood the situation. She recognized that Boaz was a candidate to marry Ruth. If that happened, then future success and prosperity would follow for everyone.

So, Naomi began to counsel Ruth on how a relationship might form.

A Word Spoken in Distress

Naomi once said, “Do not call me Naomi [‘Sweet’]. Call me Mara [‘Bitter’], for the Almighty has made my life very bitter”.

But when it looked like Boaz had an interest in Ruth, Naomi described God as the one, “who never fails to show kindness to both the living and the dead.“

So, is she a hypocrite? Is Naomi the kind of person who only praises God when things are going well?

Keeping the Things of God Real

Sometimes I think of the saints in such lofty terms that I make them seem unrelatable. And I don’t mean to diminish the extraordinary experiences and testimonies of the saints. It’s just that sometimes I don’t imagine them in the struggle of life. My lazy thinking has me believing that the saints never struggled with anything. They were never depressed. They never questioned God. They always did what was right.

But, it’s important to realize that every saint was like me – human and weak. They all struggled with iniquity and temptation. Most all of them sinned in ways that were common to all men.

And like me, some knew such great disappointment that they became angry with God. I have been angry with God. Like Naomi, I have accused God. I have asked the hard questions in the midst of my own tears and pain. “If God is for me, then why don’t my plans work the way I want.”

Here’s the thing, God isn’t afraid of your honest questions. He’s not shy about – – He’s not offended by your accusations. He’s patient and kind. He knows that if you stick with Him, you’ll get to the truth you seek.

So go to your closet and close the door and just be honest.

“But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” Matt 6:6

Affection and the Experience of Value

Synopsis     Ruth 2:8-15     8/2/2018

Boaz was a wealthy relative of Elimelech. Upon Naomi and Ruth’s return from Moab, Ruth gleaned in one of Boaz’s fields. He noticed her because of her hard work.

Because Boaz had heard of Ruth’s faithfulness and kindness to Naomi, he blessed her with favor amongst the gleaners. He gave her food to eat and allowed her to eat with his workers. Boaz spoke kind words to Ruth and she was encouraged.

The Beginning of Something

Boaz had heard about Ruth. He had heard about the faithfully devoted Moabite woman who maintained solidarity through hardship. And, he was intrigued. He wanted to know more.

Then, there she was. In his field with the gleaners was the faithful woman that had all of Bethlehem buzzing. So, he watched her work. And she was everything he imagined. She was more than he imagined.

He spoke kindly to her and offered her protection and a good return on her labor. Then, he shared his own food with her. And, he communicated his deep appreciation for her remarkable faithfulness to Naomi.

The Experience of Value and Affection

We so often talk about value as if it were merely, or essentially, about money. So we say, “money saved on a purchase” is a good value. Or, a highly skilled tradesman creates value through his industry.

But, I forget in all these other uses of the word, the very essence of value. I experience value viscerally. I feel value. We all feel value.

This is the fundamental experience. All other understandings of value are pinned to this foundational notion.

That’s not to say that what I think of something makes it valuable. Not at all. I misvalue more things than I properly appreciate. Still, the value of things and of people is intrinsic to the things and to the people. God the Creator has invested value in all created things.

Yet, I say it again, I experience value viscerally.

So, the trick is to see things from God’s perspective. The trick is to experience the value that God invested, rather than to experience the relatively inferior value that I can extract from the things I encounter around me.

Boaz experienced Ruth in the purity of her virtue. And, he loved her for the strength of her character long before it occurred to him that she might be his partner in life.

O Lord, give me the eyes of Boaz.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, Announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, saying to Zion, “Your God is King!” Isaiah 52:7

Witnessing Eye for Value Creation

Synopsis     Ruth 1:19-2:7     8/1/2018

Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem. And, they were welcomed. But Naomi expressed her sadness at how things had turned out. She lamented the bitterness of losing her husband and both of her sons.

It was the harvest season. So, Ruth asked Naomi’s permission to glean. She went to work in the fields picking up the grain that the harvesters missed. She worked diligently. And her effort was noticed by the other workers.

She Wanted to Work

Ruth wanted to work. Whether the motivation was to secure her own provision or to bless Naomi, Ruth went to work. She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t timid. Ruth was clearly no stranger to hard work.

And this was her dignity. And this was her honor.

Boaz’s workers recognized something different in her. As a result, she was esteemed because of her willingness to work.

An Eye for Value Creation

There is so much debate about work in the post-Christian time. Especially about hard work.

There is this temptation to think that hard physical work is somehow beneath me. And, I know I’m not alone. I see the direction of the world. A tight labor market makes the question ever more pressing. In industry, we find ourselves asking, “Can’t this work be outsourced to another country or else somehow automated?”

Indeed, it’s true. Our mastery of technology and our industry has given us leisure. And leisure is the basis for culture.

But the experience of hard work has this unique ability to bring a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. A lifetime of labor was a part of what defined prior generations. Working with hands. Working with my body. Giving my physical strength to create value for another.

If the sweep of technology ends up taking the possibility of hard work away from my human hands, I will have lost more than I have gained.

“In all labor there is profit, but mere talk tends only to loss” Prov 14:23

Natural Law and the Wisdom of a Dandelion

Synopsis     Ruth 1:8-18     7/31/2018

Elimelech died. And Mahlon died. And then Chilion died. So, Naomi was alone with the Moabite wives of her two dead sons. It was grim. And, the only ray of hope in this dim circumstance was the news that the famine had ended in Bethlehem.

So, Naomi prepared to return home.

Dutifully, the daughters-in-law professed their fidelity. But Naomi knew she could offer neither woman anything but hardship. Of  course, she released them to return to their mother’s houses and their old ways.

So, Orpah accepted the release and left Naomi. It was the practical thing to do.

But Ruth wouldn’t leave. Her devotion couldn’t be discouraged. And so Naomi took Ruth back to Bethlehem.

Ruth Out of the Moabites

It’s the shocking unlikeliness of the story that catches everyone off guard. A Moabite woman – despised because of the way the Moabites treated the Israelites in the exodus – somehow shows a kind of faithfulness rarely seen amongst God’s chosen people.

Who could have anticipated this? At that moment in time, no one could have anticipated this.

Natural Law and The Wisdom of a Dandelion

But it’s in us all – the natural moral law. God’s order in creation. It informs us. It speaks through our conscience. It’s close at hand. And, it’s available to all.

If you ever doubt the persistence of the moral law, then observe a dandelion in the gravel. The wisdom of a dandelion is that it grows most anywhere. It takes whatever soil it’s given and somehow puts down roots. And it somehow grows. And it somehow flowers and fulfills its purpose.

There’s no soil that can forever resist the spirit of a dandelion. There’s no soul that can forever resist the Spirit of God.

So whether it’s a dandelion growing out of a crag in the rock, or Ruth clinging to Naomi, or me finally letting God have His way in my heart – it’s a surprising joy. And, it always takes my breath away.

For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them” Rom 2:14

Every Man Did What Was Right In His Own Sight

Synopsis    Judges 21:22-Ruth 1:7     7/30/2018

The conclusion of the book of Judges finishes with the observation that, “everyone did what was right in their own sight”. Accordingly, the belief was that, “because there was no king,” the people acted in a disordered way.

Around the same time, a family from Bethlehem experienced a great famine and decided to move to the plains of Moab. Elimelech, Naomi and their two sons wanted to start a new life in a new land. However, Elimelch died. And though both sons chose to marry Moabite women, they both subsequently died. This left the three women without resources.

 Everyone Did What Was Right in Their Own Sight

God’s “children of Israel” project looked to be in serious danger of failing. The people had not adhered to the law of Moses. They had embraced the idolatry of the nations that they had displaced. Perhaps more importantly, they had abandoned the tenants of justice and mercy that were built into the law.

The Israelites were failing the covenant. The priesthood provided mediation to heal the sins of the nation. And the judges provided for the resolution of disputes. But there was a lack of leadership to focus the attention of the nation toward a single purpose build on a foundation of a single standard.

The Challenge of a Plural Society Where Every Truth is Relative

It’s the common mantra of my time: “Everyone has their own truth”. And while It’s not hard to fashion philosophical arguments that point to the inadequacy of thinking this way, pointing out the error doesn’t seem to be producing a more united community.

I, like many people, want the world to be different. So, for my sake and the sake of my children, I want the world to be more equitable and more just. And, I want a culture that is enriched by the efforts of people who are deeply committed to the common good.

The Israelites looked for a king to help achieve this goal. But, the royal aristocracy failed to deliver. So it remained that, “Every man’s way remained right in his own eye’s”. Just like now when every man’s way remains right in his own eyes.

The world awaits a pattern and example they can believe in.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone”. Isaiah 9:1

The Letter and the Spirit of the Law

Synopsis     Judges 21:12-21     7/28/2018

The Israelite leaders gave the Benjaminite warriors who survived the annihilation of the tribe, wives from the unmarried women of Jabesh-gilead. However, the Israelite leaders soon realized that their solution was inadequate.

So they sent messengers to the Benjaminite survivors. The messengers instructed them to set an ambush in the vineyards of Shiloh. The leaders permitted the Benjaminites to catch wives from amongst the young women who were attending the annual feast before the Lord.

The Letter and the Spirit of the Law

Their rashly made, yet solemn vow had trapped them. So, their intent was to find a way to circumvent the vow. By law, the vow was unchangeable. But if they kept the vow, the tribe of Benjamin would be unable to recover. And the surviving men would be unable keep their blood relationship with the other tribes. Because of this conflict, it was unclear what they should do.

But their solutions sounds like a bunch of jailhouse lawyering. “Allow the remnant of survivors to kidnap young women who’ve gone up to worship the Lord.” So, technically they didn’t “break their vow” – or the law. It’s clever. But is this right?

You Are the Man

And therein lies the temptation.

I condemn these Old Testament characters for their guile. It’s not right. Their behavior is not righteousness. They are playing a game and making a mockery of God’s intent. This bending of the law creates exceptions that undermine the whole law.

So, God’s law is made into a prosaic and antiquated nonsense. I’m offended on God’s account.

And in my indignation, I realize – I am that man. My indignation reminds me that I’m the one who justifies my little indulgences. And, I’m the one who bends the rules in my favor. And, I’m the one who justifies my actions so that no one can accuse me.

Sometimes, when I go into a prison to teach, I look around and see these men and women. Their faces are like mine. I think to myself, “what’s the difference”

Only but the grace of God and there go I. It sobers me.

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Have Mercy on Me a Sinner.”  The Jesus Prayer

The Dubious Value of Vowmaking

Synopsis     Judges 21:1-11     7/27/2018

Prior to the battle, the leaders of Israel had made a vow that no one would give their daughter in marriage to any man from the tribe of Benjamin. After the fighting was finished, there were only a few hundred Benjaminite men left. And, the Israelites killed all the Benjaminite women.

So, the vow created a new problem. The problem was that none of the Benjaminite survivors could find Israelite wives from which to procreate.

The Israelite leaders looked for a solution by inquiring if there was any Israelite group that had not taken the vow. They came to realize there was. A clan from Jabesh-gilead had failed to respond to the general call for all tribes. So the assembly sent soldiers to punish the men and women who failed to respond, but allowed for young, unmarried women to survive.

The Value of Vows

It may have seemed like a good idea when they did it. But vowing to isolate the Benjamites was rash and knee-jerk. So was vowing death to anyone who failed to report.

This is the great danger of believing that you know what’s coming next – that you can read the future.

Givenness Deals with What Is

Deal only with what actually is. This is the Way of Givenness. It is essentially a way of responding. There is no speculation. And there is no attempting to leverage what I don’t control.  It’s a way to keep things real. And, it’s a way for me to avoid making rash mistakes.

Living in this way is the difference between betting and investing. If I’m a gambler, sometimes I win. But statistics suggest that most of the time I’ll lose.

But responding to what’s given is like investing. It means dealing with fundamental truths. It means that no matter what, I can’t lose.

“But I say to you, do not swear at all: not by heaven, for it is God’s throne: nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” Matt 5:34-37

The Problem with Genocide as a Solution

Synopsis     Judges 20:39-48     7/26/2018

The Israelite army presented the Benjaminites with a ruse. They set an ambush. And, they drew them away from the city. So, the Benjaminites fell into the trap.

In the end, Israel virtually eliminated Benjamin from existence. Only a remnant escaped the destruction. A few hundred men survived.

Genocide as a Solution

So, there’s an incrementalist insanity at play here. This story began with a Benjamite mob attacking a single Ephraimite man and his family in the town of Gibeah. The man gave up his concubine to the mob to save his own life. So, they raped and killed her in a horrifically brutal assault.

But, at this moment in the story, there are over sixty-thousand men lying dead on a battlefield outside Gibeah. These are Israelite and Benjaminite men destroyed in a civil war. Israel sacked and burned all the cities of Benjamin. And almost all the people of Benjamin were dead.

But, what caused this? What hardened the hearts of so many people. Why couldn’t anyone see the insanity?

The Inherent Instability of Self-Righteousness

It’s in me – Self-righteousness. Of course, it’s not really righteousness. And, as the name implies, it’s not from God. Instead, it’s something I’ve made up. Like the expression, “Every man’s way is right in his own eyes”.

And that is me. If I have nothing at stake – I’m talking about the importance of peace to anyone who is willing to listen. But let someone cross me, and suddenly I’m thinking about vengeance.

And it’s all OK for me because I’m a Christ follower – “a virtual martyr”.

God save me from the self-righteous justification of my own subjectively satisfying desires.

“You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do justice and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

The Distance Between Two Perspectives

Synopsis     Judges 20:29-38     7/25/2018

On the third day of the assault, the Israelite army set an ambush. The Benjaminites, who were defending Gibeah, came out as in the two previous days. So, the Israelite army feigned a route. And, the Benjaminites pursued them into the open field.

As the Benjaminites chased the main Israelite army, the Israelites released the ambush. They invaded the city and set it on fire. Outmaneuvered, the Benjaminites recognized the danger. And they fled in disarray. The Israelites slaughtered the Benjamite swordsmen.

The Distance Between Two Perspectives

The Israelites were thinking, “We’ll flee to lure the Benjaminites out to a slaughter.”  The Benjaminites were thinking, “They are fleeing before us.”

It’s remarkable that two people, or two groups of people, can see things so differently. Both can be fully engaged participants in an event and still interpret the very same circumstances in entirely different ways.

Reconciling Everyone’s “Truth”

Truth is the adequate description of reality. According to the scriptures, I establish truth through two or three witnesses. The witnesses have to be unique. And I have to scrutinize the testimony.

It’s a simple formula. And yet, we are all sometimes fooled.

So, beware the rush to judgement. Embrace the truth.

“…so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Matt 18:16