Everybody wants to do the right thing. Okay, maybe not everyone, but it’s an exceptionally evil person who wakes up in the morning wondering how he can do the wrong thing in new and destructive ways that day.
It’s a safe bet that the vast majority of people reading this blog, as well as the people you know, want to do the right thing. And when they pray, the bulk of their prayer lives can be summed up this way, “God, could You please make it easier for me to do the right thing?”
There’s nothing wrong with that prayer, per se. But what about when it’s hard? What about when God sees fit to leave obstacles in your path that make doing the right thing difficult? It’s one thing to do right when life’s a bed of roses, when the sun is shining and your boss is your best friend. But can you do the right thing even when it’s difficult, even when you’re stuck with a nagging, complaining, bitter, old mother-in-law who can’t seem to remember that your husband died, too? Can you continue doing the right thing even when you have to get out early and stay out late and pick up the table scraps from somebody else, just so you can provide food for your own table? Can you do what’s right then?
God thinks you can.
After reading the book of Judges, it’s understandable for us to have a decidedly pessimistic view of humanity. We may even be tempted to question God’s judgment in entrusting His promises to fickle-hearted people who never seem to get it right for very long.
Perhaps that’s why God saw fit to preserve the story of Ruth.
Ruth gets it right, even when we might expect her to get it wrong. We would understand if a desperate pagan widow failed. After all, she’s got the deck stacked against her. But Ruth refuses to fold, choosing instead to play the hand dealt to her with courage and integrity, and a dash of cunning, as well.
But, and this is important, there’s no secret to it. There’s no magical incantation to recite, no seminar to attend, no program of seven easy steps to total transformation in just 15-minutes a day. Operators are not standing by ready to take your order.
You already know how to do this. You learned it all innursery school. Don’t hit. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Put things back where you found them. Share. If you see someone who needs help, lend a hand. Take time off to think and reflect and catch your breath. Tell someone that you appreciate what they do. Give someone a hug. This is simple, meat-and-potatoes stuff.
You want to do the right thing? Maybe you could stop looking for a shortcut and just do what you know to do today.
Father, the tasks of this life are so manifold and complex that I can lose the big picture in the details of daily living. Teach me to see with increasing clarity that it is in these details that I am called to trust and obey You. I may be confused about Your ways and timing in my journey, but Your Word tells me that You are working all things together for good to those who love You and are called according to Your purpose. I ask for the grace to see You in all things and to live in the simplicity of willing one thing above all else. May I will to do Your will, love the things You love, and hope in the things You promise. May I have the wisdom to do the right things in the right times and in the right ways. I want to honour You in the many small opportunities of this day and live well before You.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
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