Being Led

So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” - Ruth 2:8-9

Ruth asks to bend the Law to provide for Naomi. As Carolyn Custis James points out in The Gospel of Ruth, Ruth is helping Boaz to see that “the letter of the law says, ‘Let them glean.’  The spirit of the law says, ‘Feed them.’” 

And Boaz responds - which is downright remarkable. He had everything going for him, and yet he was willing to be led by Ruth into this new way of doing things, of centering the margins. Think of the impressive steps Boaz was willing to take out of his privilege:

Boaz was the citizen - he followed the lead of Ruth, the immigrant
Boaz was the male - he followed the lead of Ruth, the woman
Boaz was the older adult - he followed the lead of Ruth, the younger adult
Boaz was the wealthy land owner - he followed the lead of Ruth, the poor peasant
Boaz had the strong religious tradition - he followed the lead of Ruth, the religious new-comer

As Boaz responds to Ruth’s bold invitation to break the rules, he’s responding to God’s own heart for generosity. And it doesn’t stop here. We will return to this theme in a couple of weeks (frankly, our initial attempts at generosity are always just an introduction to an increasingly generous life). But today let’s focus on this idea of submitting your privilege to someone who does not have it in order to be led by them. It’s the way of Jesus, after all - not counting equality with God something to be grasped but making himself a servant.

In order to be faithful to Jesus, what is an area of privilege that you’re willing to start following the lead of someone who lacks it?