Kindness

Ruth 2:8-16
Length: 19:34

This is a message given on November 8, 2009 at the Bowdertown United Methodist Church.

Kindness

So far in our study of Ruth we have see a women by the name of Naomi leave her homeland of Bethlehem with her husband and two sons because of a great famine. While staying in the land of Moab her two sons get married, but they eventually die along with her husband.

So Naomi decide to return to her homeland and tells her daughter in laws to return to their homes to marry someone from their culture and to have their own family. One daughter in law indeed returns, but the other stays. That of course is Ruth.

Ruth make that wonderful speech that we looked at last time, proclaiming her loyalty to Naomi. Where you go, I will go. Your God will be my God. Were you die, I will die. That is true loyalty. Ruth was loyal out of love for Naomi, not to gain some type of reward for her good behavior.

As we shall see today, Ruth was indeed taken care of or rewarded if you will, for her loyalty, for her kindness, and for her faithfulness.

So, we have these two widows, Ruth and Naomi, back at Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem after about a 10 year absence. They needed the basic necessities of life. Ruth volunteered to go out into the field and glean for food.

Gleanings were stalks of grain left after the first cutting. The Mosaic law commanded that the harvest should not be reaped to the corners nor the gleanings picked up. These were to be left for the needy, especially widows, orphans, and strangers.

Ruth just “happened” to arrive in the field of Boaz. What a wonderful depiction of God’s providence for His children. Boaz turns out to be a close relative of Naomi’s. As I mentioned last week in our introduction, he was a respected man of great wealth.

If you read the entire chapter you can get a pretty good idea of what Boaz was like. From the conversation with his workers we can see that he was well respected and treated his workers with kindness.

He hears the story of Ruth and how hard she worked in the field trying to provide for her mother in law. He feels compassion for her and is generous to her by not only allowing her to glean in his field, but provided a little extra for her and Naomi.

He told his servants to leave a little extra behind and to let some grain fall from their sacks so she could have some. He let Ruth drink from the water of his workers. At mealtime, he let Ruth eat with him.
Boaz admired Ruth because of her faithfulness and dedication to Naomi. She was a hard worker and Boaz went above and beyond the required law to provide for her and to protect her.

Boaz told his servants to watch out for Ruth and not to touch her. No doubt, there were many dangers for a single woman, especially a foreigner, in those days. But Ruth prevails because God provides for her through the kindness of Boaz.

What a difference one person can make. Sometimes we think that we will never be able to make a difference in this world. Most of us will never have the opportunity to preach to a large crowd like Billy Graham. But someone had to introduce the Gospel to him right?

Most of the important things we do in life are often neither dramatic nor memorable to us. But they can make a huge difference in the lives of others. God will remember that and He knows our hearts. He knows our true reason for doing what we do.

God is faithful to His children. He was faithful to Ruth and provided her protection and the other things she needed. He still continues to provide for us today. I am sure we all have appropriate shelter, adequate food and clothing. God has provided for us.

When Ruth returns home to Naomi that evening she tells Naomi about her day. If you look back at the end of Chapter 1, Naomi is feeling a little sad and maybe a little angry or at least upset with God for all that she has experienced.

After listening to Ruth’s day, Naomi begins to realize that God is still there working in their lives. She begins to understand and remember that God is loyal, faithful and merciful to His children.

This marks a turning point for Naomi. She was empty inside, feeling abandoned by God. But now she realizes through Boaz’s kindness that God is still there. And He is still here with us today as well.

Boaz is kind. We should be kind as well. In fact, Christ was the perfect example of kindness and we are supposed to be like Christ, right?

Jesus touched the lives of the untouchables of society. Remember, the women who bled for twelve years? Not only was she ceremonially unclean, but she would have been physically unclean as well. She was an outcast of society.

But this women came to Jesus for help. She believed He could heal her. How did Jesus respond? With kindness. He didn’t yell at her or belittle her. He says be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.

As Christians we are commanded to love one another. Part of love is showing kindness. Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.”

Throughout the bible we are reminded how actions speak louder than words. The same holds true for us today as well. Where does kindness start? The best place is in your heart. When you have a kind heart it will reflect in your everyday life, in your home, with family, with friends, at work.

Boaz was a kind person and it shows.

Kindness is pretty easy to demonstrate isn’t it? It doesn’t take much as we can see from Boaz’s example. What small acts of kindness can you do to brighten someone’s day? How can you help someone in need this week?

Do you enjoy it when people treat you with kindness? I know I do, and I'm sure that you do, too. If you want to be treated with kindness, notice carefully the words of Jesus in Luke 6:31
"And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.”

Just think of the effect you can have on those around you if you treat them with kindness.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the so many blessings you have placed into our lives. Thank you for not only providing exactly what we need, but so much more. Help us this week to be kind to others. Show us what we can do. Give us a generous heart like Boaz to share the things we have been given with others. Give us a kind heart. In Jesus Name. AMEN.