I work in the financial industry, and spending time thinking about where to invest my savings is something of an occupational hazard. Just the other evening, my wife and I were discussing whether we should put money in this investment or the other, reading up on the internet and weighing the pros and cons. We narrowed it down to two possibilities and then we went to sleep.
The next morning, we chatted about it a bit more, decided on one of the two, and then I went to do my daily devotions. I happen to be going through a "Bible in a Year" plan with my daughter, and that day's reading was from the books of Ruth and Luke. In a nutshell, Ruth's husband passes away, leaving her a widow, and she follows her mother-in-law Naomi (who is also widowed) back to Israel. In those days, widows were in a pitiable condition, because they could not find work.
But God's law is good. Leviticus 23:22 says "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them to the poor and for the foreigner residing among you." So Ruth does exactly that - she goes to a field and walks behind the workers, picking up the leftover grain that they drop.
The owner of the field, Boaz, sees Ruth and gives her bread and water and welcomes her to continue picking up the leftovers from his field. Ruth eats the bread, and has enough left over, so she saves it and brings it to her mother-in-law.
So far, so clear. The lesson is, share with the poor and the foreigner among us. Then I read the other part of the day's devotions in the book of Luke, which was about the parable of the rich man who had so much grain that his barns had no space, so he decided to build more barns, and he said to himself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink and be merry." To which God replies, "Fool! What you have will be taken away, then who will get what you have prepared? This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich towards God".
It struck me then of course that "building barns" for myself was exactly what I was doing. Let's be clear - it's good to invest, and good to be responsible for our financial future. But really, how much energy and time am I spending on storing things up for myself, and how much energy and time am I spending on God and others?
So what's the alternative to building barns? Leaving the grain for others! Starting with who? Family members, like Ruth did for her mother-in-law. And the poor, like Boaz did with his field. You know, Ruth was poor and hungry. When Boaz gave her the bread, she could have eaten it all for herself. Even when you're full, you can always eat some more - like when you go to a buffet, and you always find room for just one more crab leg and the orange mousse! But Ruth chose not to stuff herself - she saved some for her mother-in-law.
Similarly, Boaz could have maximised his harvest by reaping his fields right to the edge, and telling his workers to pick up all the grain that they dropped along the way. But he chose to obey and leave the edges unreaped, and the gleanings on the ground for the poor.
And there is a powerful dynamic that is created by living a life that chooses to leave the edges, or even more than the edges, for others. Ruth was so poor that she literally had to pick up food that others dropped on the ground. But she chose to be generous to her mother-in-law even with the little she had. Boaz also chose to be generous to a stranger with his fields and harvests. Eventually, the Bible records that Boaz marries Ruth. And do you know who is their great grandson?
King David - the most famous and beloved king of Israel. So within 3 generations, the dynamic created by generous living lifted this family from utter poverty to the throne. And many generations later, you might realise, the most famous descendant of David is... Jesus Himself of course.
This lesson is not just about money. It's about our time and energy. I shared this with my children - it's good that you are hardworking at your studies. It's good that your parents are hardworking in their jobs. But - we must not reap our time and energy in school and in the workplace until the very edges, and we have nothing left for others.
Similarly, it's good to have recreation. To play computer games or sports or watch TV or Youtube. But again, even with our free time and energy, we must not reap until the very edges for ourselves, and leave nothing for others.
That very evening I met the family for dinner after work, and I asked the wife where we were going - and she said - hotel buffet! I couldn't believe it, as I thought to myself, "Perfect setting to share the lesson of not over-stuffing ourselves!" And when I finished sharing my learning with them, my wife said to me, "You know, that's really strange. This very morning, I was looking at our bank statement, and wondering why a chunk of money had disappeared from our bank account. And then I remembered. Today's the day the travel agency was supposed to debit us for the end-of-year holiday for our parents."
Wow, how my heart sang, and what a divine confirmation of the word I had received. Thank God for my wife, whose diligent generosity creates a dynamic of blessing for my family!
Leaving portions of time and energy and money for others needs such diligent and deliberate generosity, because my natural self doesn't want to do it! So this Thursday, we'll do some more of that - we're doing our monthly bread distribution again, and I'm always so happy to have friends introduce other friends to join us in this work. Partly because we need the manpower :D, and even more so now, because I know so surely that when people leave the edges for others, they themselves are blessed.
As you read this, I ask that you consider this - have you reaped your time and energy and money right to the edges? What have you left for others, so that you can kickstart this dynamic of blessing for you and those you care for? If you want to start, but you don't know where or how to, drop me a message to find out more - you can start this very Thursday, and make a meaningful start to the long Easter weekend!
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