in the way of giving

I'm going through The Story (Lucado/Frazee) this school year with my family and with a group from our church as a discipline to move through the Bible and a way to help our thirteen year olds see the Bible as one continuing narrative of God.  We're currently reading in the book of Ruth.

As I was reading yesterday, I found a great passage that describes a way of giving that is done in community, with generosity, affirming dignity, and empowering a person:

" At mealtime Boaz said to her, 'Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.'  

When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain.  She ate all she wanted and had some left over.  As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, 'Let her gather among the sheaves and don't reprimand her.  Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her.'

So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening.  Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.  She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. " Ruth 2:14-18

1. COMMUNITY- Notice that Boaz invited Ruth to join the harvesters for a meal.  He invited her into community.  One of my friends told me that she struggles with the idea of giving up charity and the practice of just giving things to people for free.  She mentioned all of the places in the Bible where we're instructed to give freely to people in need.  I told her that it's not that we never give charity again..especially in the times of disaster or crisis...but the problem is that God intended giving to be done in community.  We've largely extracted community from our giving, and by doing this, we often give from separated, segregated places.  We often give from places of power that keep the power dynamics the same.  This kind of giving-without community-has caused disastrous results, both for the receiver and the giver.

2.  GENEROSITY- Notice Boaz's generosity as he not only allows Ruth to glean his fields but also tells his workers to pull out some extra stalks for her to gather.  A heart for God, a life in Christ, does produce and reflect generous living and giving.

3. DIGNITY AND EMPOWERMENT- Notice that Ruth gathers and gleans until evening, she threshed the barley herself, and she carried it back to town.  Ruth worked.  She did not stay at home and wait for someone to come with food for her and Naomi.  By working, Ruth joined the community, she recognized her abilities.  Working allowed her to maintain her dignity and empowered her to be a part of providing for her family.  She just needed an opportunity, a hand up.  Boaz was that empowering gatekeeper who gave her such an opportunity.

As Christ's Church we would be wise to the look at the general negative outcomes of years of giving that has been generous, yes, but has also largely been devoid of building community, dignity, and empowerment.  This passage in Ruth helps give us a different model.