What's Your Reputation

When Ruth goes to the fields to pick grain and makes her bold request to harvest amongst the workers (instead of waiting till they were done and picking up the leftovers), the owner of the field, Boaz, is not there. So instead she talked to the overseer and makes her bold requisition.

Interestingly, the overseer grants the request, even though it was certainly bending the Mosaic Law and was counter cultural. Why would he do that?

Look at the overseer’s response when Boaz comes to the field at lunch time and asks about this foreign woman there in the midst of his workers:

The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” Ruth 2:6-7

What makes the most sense is that the overseer knew what kind of man Boaz was - and therefore made a decision based on the the character of his boss. The overseer knew enough of Ruth’s story to realize that this was just the sort of person that Boaz would prize - and he was right.

Do we have that kind of reputation with the people who know us - that they would automatically assume they should be generous with our stuff to others even when we’re not around to consult? Let the Spirit haunt you with that question today… And may Yahweh continue to lead you into a radically generous life.