But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to abandon you, to turn back from following after you. Wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” — Ruth 1:16
Last fall there was a special election to decide whether or not to increase the local tax rate so teachers in the district could get raises. It failed by a slim margin. People had a variety of opinions that determined how they voted. But one person’s reasoning caught my eye. In response to a reporter the next day, he explained why he voted no: “I feel bad for [the teachers], but why should we be punished in a way to support them when we don’t get any benefit in return?”
It’s a variation on the old, “What’s in it for me?” reasoning.
That seems so much like the mindset behind elections. Experts say that we vote with our pocketbooks and 401k’s in mind. What candidate will bring down gas and grocery prices? I don’t know of any candidate who wins by saying they’ll increase taxes. If it hurts our bottom line, we’ll vote it down.
It’s ironic, but I’m writing this in early December, and “Giving Tuesday” emails are flooding my inbox. All these wonderful causes are asking for donations that will be matched to some degree, so anything I give will go farther. This type of appeal responds to people who ask a question different than the one asked by the disgruntled voter above. That different question is: “What’s in it for you, and how can I help?”
Being other-focused is the backbone of the human family. It’s not surprising that God mandates it and Jesus embodies it. And it’s dramatically illustrated in the exchange between Ruth (a Gentile) and Naomi (her Jewish mother-in-law). When their husbands die, and Naomi is left without a male provider, Ruth sacrifices to tend to her. Ruth will leave her country, and even her prospects of remarriage, in order to help a woman she has no obligations to help. Perhaps it’s not surprising that Ruth is listed in Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:5).
How would life be different if we could live by asking, “How can I help make your life better?”