If you're going to Be Ruth - BE RUTH!

Recently I've been hearing a lot of my friends say to "Be Ruth", and go out there and be bold, but ladies if you are going to BE Ruth make sure you are really BEING RUTH! Make sure you truly know what that means before you give counsel to a friend that is hurting because she hasn't been on a date with that cute boy. I would challenge all of us to be Ruth but truly BE RUTH, all of who she was, don't just cherry pick the attributes of Ruth's character that fit with society or are easy to adapt!

So maybe now you are asking, well Camille, who was Ruth what was her character, what attributes of Ruth should I emulate. Great question! I am of course not a formally trained theologian, this comes from my understanding of who Ruth was, biblical history and of course the ways that God has used Ruth in my life. So if you have questions, ask - if you think I'm wrong, that's fine but please find the scripture to refute it, don't argue with emotions.

Let's start with a little background. Ruth was a Moabite, daughter-in-law to Naomi and a widow. There is a book in the OT dedicated entirely to Ruth, she was a strong woman who loved the Lord. I could continue on for a very long time but we don't want this to be longer than the actual book of Ruth. We need to remember that the book of Ruth is not entirely about how to attract a man but on first blush many of us would like to only see those parts. The story of Ruth and Naomi is a story of great suffering and how both Naomi and Ruth were faithful to God and he delivered them and provided for them through their suffering.

So here we go, how to be RUTH

1) Most important - Ruth followed God and had complete faith in the Lord. She was willing to leave everything that she knew for the Lord. One example is when she left her entire family and country to stay with Naomi. She pledged her devotion to the Lord and Naomi in Ruth 1:16-17. (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+1%3A16-17)

2) Trust that the Lord will provide what you need - Naomi and Ruth left the land that they lived in and went back to Naomi's homeland with nothing,trusting that the Lord would provide for them there. Ruth 1:6-7 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+1%3A6-7)

3) Listen to strong women who are seeking hard after God - Ruth didn't ask for advice from everyone she knew! Naomi who loved God deeply told her what to do and she did it knowing that Naomi was a women who loved God and would act according to God's will. And ladies, if you are the women that are giving the counsel, and you know the guy is not interested - do not advise your friends to "Be Ruth" and put themselves out there! Ruth 2-3 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A2-3)

So those are most of the God buckets and the really hard ones! Once those are all functioning as they should and you are seeking first God's will in the situation not your own, seeking wise counsel, asking God what to do and trusting Him alone to take care of this...then you can move onto the more action oriented Ruthisms... But remember my dear friends the first 3 must be the priority! You can be Ruth all you want but if God doesn't want you with whoever you are being Ruth towards it's not going to bring God glory, or build your character.

4) Ruth selected a man based on his heart not looks - Boaz was older than Ruth and was not as "attractive" as some of the other men. She placed herself in front of a man who had a good heart. Ruth 3:10 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+3%3A10)

5) She placed herself in front of Boaz - she didn't wait for Boaz to come up to her standing in a corner feeling bad for herself, she showed up to work in his field day after day. But please don't interpret this as an open invite to stalk men at work - it's not! Ruth 2:3 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A3)

6) That being said - Boaz was not attracted by her determination, her cute dress, sandals or fancy makeup - Boaz took care of Ruth because he heard of everything that she had done for Naomi and her love of the Lord. So the focus of how you would "get the attention" of a good Jesus loving man would not be from just being present but being present and seeking after God. Allow the fruit in your life to do the talking. Ruth 2:11-12 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A11-12)

7) Accept the man's leadership and protection - Boaz took care of Ruth, he told the men in his fields to give her water and leave grain for her to glean - he looked out for her. If a man does this, allow him to. Allow him to lead and protect as much is appropriate. This is most likely his way of showing that he cares, and let's be real, if you want a man to lead your marriage you better be dating a man who is willing to lead! Ruth 2:8-9 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+2%3A8-9)

8) She layed at his feet - now this one is always thought to be a little bit out there. But when you look at what this really meant - it was not that she was going and climbing into his bed and saying Boaz here I am! In the cultural context, to put his cloak over her would be a signal to a kinsman redeemer (which Boaz is) that she was open to marriage. Due to the age difference he would not have initiated this process. Ruth 3:8-11 (http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=ruth+3%3A8-11) So from this I would say, without being so obvious that it is sick, when he has done the upfront to make it clear that he is interested (number 6 & 7) then make it clear to him that you would be interested in dating him - but please don't crawl under his shirt!

Whoo, that was long...I hope it helped! It sure is a lot to think about, glad you stuck it out!