A WORD FOR TODAY, July 15, 2024
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, July 15, 2024
“For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.” Galatians 5:13-15, WEB
Long before voice mail, and I had an answering machine to take any calls when I was not at home, which was often because I was single and worked long hours. As you might expect, I was very creative with the messages I used, making use of music and other fun ideas. I wrote scripts, often using quotes from favorite movies or people. There was one particular message that became problematic because it caused too much confusion: I spoke in French. Though I wasn’t fluent, I’d had several years of French in High school and still had enough resources to piece together a simple message with instructions for the caller. The message was short, but fairly accurate; I practiced several times before I hit record so that the words would flow off my tongue and sound authentic.
I got a high number of hang-ups with that message, though my friends usually realized it was my phone when they heard my name. The funniest confusion was when Bruce tried to call. It was the early days of our relationship, and he was living in England. He was sure that he dialed the right number, but when he got this message in French, he wondered if he had dialed the wrong international dialing code! He got the same message when he redialed the number, so he left a message. My silliness cost him financially because international calls were very expensive.
I decided to change the message when I realized how much confusion and inconvenience it was causing. The worst call came from a doctor’s office for a woman named Mrs. Johnson. They left several messages for her about test results and appointments, but never left a number to return the call. I was unable to inform them that they were using the wrong number and that their patient never got their information. I loved that message, but I realized I was hurting others.
As I have grown older, I have become far more aware of how all my actions affect the world in which we live. I have given examples of this so many times over the years. The cart I leave in the middle of the parking lot can damage someone’s car. Cutting off a man in a scooter at the grocery store can make him angry. Keeping the extra quarter in my change can cause a cashier to lose her job. These may seem like insignificant things, but they are actions that can cause others trouble. Even worse, they can cause others to sin. We are not bound by sin because Jesus Christ has made free, but we are not freed to live however we like. We are freed to live according to the goodness and mercy of God. In that freedom, we must be careful not to harm others with our actions.
As we walk in the light of our Lord Jesus, we must always consider our neighbor and how our actions will affect them. Will what we do make another sin? Will we make them angry or cause them bitterness? Will we make them feel guilty for doing something they think is wrong? Will we cause them to overindulge? We can all be easily led astray, we just don’t have the strength or willpower to control ourselves. Someone who is hurt may not be able to control his or her temper. One drop of liquor can cause an alcoholic to overindulge. In all things, we are called to be certain that your actions show your love for your neighbor and concern for their well-being. Though you have the freedom to do what you want, even those things that feel right, do not do anything that will cause another to stumble in thought, word or deed. Love your neighbor as yourself.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org
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Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, July 15, 2024
“Ruth said, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.’” Ruth 1:16-17, WEB
One of my favorite Bible stories is that of Ruth. Ruth, who is listed among Jesus’ descendants, was a woman from the country of Moab. They Moabites were not friends of the Jews; they worshipped different gods, but they were not always enemies. The story of Ruth takes place during a time of peace. It was, however, also a time of famine and suffering. Elimelech was a man from Bethlehem who decided to take his wife Naomi and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion out of the land of Judah to the land of Moab where they might find food to survive. Their sons married Orpah and Ruth, daughters of Moab, and they were all content. Then Elimelech died. Soon his two sons also died, leaving Naomi and her daughters-in-law widows.
Naomi grieved her losses and decided to return to the land of her ancestors. Everything she loved had been taken from her; she needed to go home. She set Orpah and Ruth, her two daughters-in-law, free to go back to their homes to have new lives with new husbands who could care for them. After some argument, Orpah agreed. Orpah is an obscure figure from scriptures. We are familiar with her story, but she gets lost in the telling of Ruth’s story. We talk about Naomi, her troubles and her bitterness. We talk about Ruth, her generosity and courage. We barely mention Orpah, the one who went home. I suppose we see her as the opposite of Ruth, selfish, because despite her love for her mother-in-law she returned to her old world to begin a new life.
And yet, Orpah did not do anything wrong. As a matter of fact, she was obedient to her mother-in-law’s wishes. Naomi was a widow with no sons and no means of support. She wanted to return to her homeland where she might find generous relatives who would take her into their home. It wouldn’t be right for her to demand the girls go with her or to demand relatives take more mouths to feed. It didn’t help that the girls were Moabites; it would have been difficult for them to find husbands in Judah where marriage to foreign women was firmly denounced, even if they are from a friendly nation. Naomi was being kind and generous by telling them to go home to find a new life. Orpah wept in grief about leaving, but she did so out of respect for the woman she’d grown to love.
Ruth insisted on returning to Bethlehem with Ruth. “Wherever you go, I will go. Your people will be my people, your God my God.” So, Ruth left everything, even her god, to go to Bethlehem with Naomi to take care of her. She gleaned the fields so they would have food to eat. A man named Boaz, who was one of Naomi’s kinsmen, learned that Ruth was caring for Naomi.
Boaz saw Ruth’s good works toward Naomi and offered a blessing of thanksgiving that she might be rewarded for her efforts. He took special care of the women; he provided food and rest to Ruth and peace to Naomi who had suffered so much. He married Ruth and they had a son named Obed, through whom Ruth became the great-grandmother of David and an ancestor of Jesus. If Boaz, a mere man, is able to be a redeemer that brings hope and comfort to his kinsmen, how much more will our God bring to us?
It could not have been easy for either Naomi or Ruth, but Ruth’s bold act of kindness led to hope and comfort for Naomi. Ruth cared for her mother-in-law and her kindness was blessed by marriage to a new husband from Naomi’s family. She went out of her way to take care of someone she loved and despite the difficulties she faced, she found peace.
Today is the day we remember Ruth on the Church calendar, so it is a good day to realize how even simple acts of kindness can change someone’s life in ways that we may never really know. This is the way God works in this world: through the kindness of people who believe in Him. Keep an eye out. You may not find yourself leaving everything behind to travel to a new and strange place, but there just might be someone waiting around the corner who needs you to help them find comfort and hope.