And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." – Ruth 2:2

Today's Scripture Reading (March 15, 2022): Ruth 2

Mother Teresa of Calcutta has left us with a very different way to look at poverty. And one thing that Teresa instructed any who would listen was that "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." I knew of a religious leader who actually taught the reverse, do only for one what you can do for everyone. It governed everything that this man did. If he couldn't do it for everyone, then he didn't do it. In his life, this extended from the people he would help down to those with whom he would go for coffee. But I think that Mother Teresa's way makes much more sense. I can't help everyone, but if I can help someone, then I must do that.

Naomi and Ruth existed when there was no government social safety net. To be blunt, they lived in an era with very little government. This was the era of the Judges in Israel. It was an era summed up with the words, "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit" (Judges 21:25).

The Law of Moses gave very specific instructions to those who grew food in Israel. But just because there was no government safety net did not mean that the poor had no place to go for help. But the place that they had was not a government office or even a church, but it was to the individual farmers who couldn't help everyone but who were bound by law to help some.

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. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:9-10).

The idea was that the edges of a field were to be left for the poor. And, if you dropped something, don't go back to pick it back up. Leave it there for those who need it more than you do. (Could you imagine doing that on your next visit to a mall. If you happen to drop some money on the ground, obviously you don't need it, so just leave it there for someone who does.) This was Israel's safety net, which depended not on someone or organization helping everyone but rather everyone helping someone.

But what we sometimes miss in the story is that Ruth knew at least portions of the Law of Moses. She was a Moabite, but she knew the law that Israel held to be important. So, she asks Naomi if she could go and pick up at the edges of the field that had been left for the poor. And, maybe, someone would pity her and allow her to follow them for anything that might be dropped. It was a humble life, but Ruth understood it was a life specifically designed for people just like her and Naomi.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Ruth 3