Traditions of Kindness
As I read the Book of Ruth this week, I was impressed with the overwhelming feeling of love and kindness displayed by the characters involved in the stories. Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz all demonstrated a complete lack of selfishness and an abundance of loyalty, not only to each other but to the traditions of caring for each other that were common in the culture of the times.
When tragedy strikes someone we know, we initially feel empathy and have desires to help and give comfort. Too often, however, these feelings are fleeting, and our benevolent actions diminish. In the story of Ruth, the exact opposite of that was true. Following the death of Naomi’s husband and sons, lifelong commitments were made, not only by Ruth to Naomi but by all of her family and extended family of Naomi. The powerful lessons and examples taught and shown are of great value to each of us.
In our time, these traditions of kindness seem to be lacking. Caring for those who suffer loss and are not in a position to care for themselves needs to be more of a priority for us. Government assistance is no substitute for a more personal approach. Families especially must care for each other.
We sometimes think that the people in Old Testament times didn’t value one another, especially women. The story of Ruth demonstrates differently. While traditional roles were very different, the love and compassion people had for one another is an example we would do well to emulate.
Because we don’t have strong traditions of personal responsibility for each other, we need to reestablish past traditions with love and kindness as the foundational motivations. I suppose it is up to us to decide how we can accomplish this.
One thing is abundantly clear; we can do more. Maybe I am only speaking for myself in this regard. Starting today, I will do more by finding creative ways to reach out to someone in need. I hope you will do the same. Let’s create some new traditions of kindness.