But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” Ruth 1: 16-17.
I wish more people owned this kind of loyalty. We’ve forgotten it in the modern surge to blur barriers, which is a good thing in many ways because it stops foolish prejudice and blends us more into one unit. Yet, we’ve become too blended in other ways, to the point where we have hardly any loyalties at all. This brings with it loneliness and displacement. It also loses identity in culture, families and regions, which are, in my opinion, what makes humanity so beautiful and rich.
Proverbs claims for us to make friends we have to be friends. Loyalty is a part of that friendship package. Many times people desire friendships but instead float all over the place without developing community and this is where we make our biggest mistake, I believe. It’s not that we have to exclude anyone or stop being friends outside a certain circle of people, rather our close circle must be comprised of loyal, loving, supportive yet willing to get in our soup when we need it type of friends.
Ruth showed by her own attitude a willingness to dedicate her life to a friendship. Naomi must have been one hell of a mother in law for both women to be willing to travel back home with her. It says something, though, even more of Ruth’s character that she decided to press on even if it meant leaving everything she grew up with or ever knew.
That is love beyond the common. It is a demonstration of love beyond the pale. It goes far and above what most humans require of even their spouses, for that matter. Ruth’s attitude and choices showed continuously that she was willing to sacrifice her own future, if it meant that she could remain in the company of her friend. But what she got in return was Naomi’s love and loyalty as well, for the older woman thought more about Ruth’s happiness and future place than she did of her own dire straits. Again, that is love beyond the pale and above the common call.
If we would find loving, loyal and faithful friendships, we must develop the same attitude. Our POV must take on the willingness to pour ourselves out like water for someone else’s growth and happiness. This doesn’t mean we are completely thoughtless of ourselves, rather it points the way to building community. And if we choose friendships that reflect our values, we will receive the same from them that we have given.
What an awesome thought, what a wonderful world to live in, and how lofty an ideal.
Tags: friendship, Love, loyalty, marriage, relationships, selflessness
