Giving Your Time
After unpacking how to
“give-as-you-go,” I realized there is another important quality we can practice
from the book of Ruth: gleaning.
As I mentioned before, gleaning is
the “gathering of extra.” One of the students in our college ministry pointed
out that Ruth had an incredible attitude as she was gleaning. She was grateful,
kind, confident, and unselfish. (Read Ruth 2 for more).
One way or another, we are all
gleaning from someone. Have you ever received
▪ hand-me-down clothes/furniture?
▪ tips?
▪ free babysitting?
▪ someone paying for your meal or coffee?
▪ advice?
When someone tries to offer me this,
I tend to be unreceptive. Depending on the gift, I end up in one of these 4
categories:
Self-entitled:
“well I deserved that anyway.” (I tend to do this with positive critiques on my
hard work.)
Reluctant:
“I don’t want to impose.” (When someone offers to open the door, or help carry
my groceries, I hesitate.)
Prideful:
“I don’t need your ‘charity’.” (My self-reliance rears its ugly head when it
comes to someone else paying for my meal.)
Snobbish:
“that gift wasn’t all that super.” (If I don’t connect with a sermon, teaching,
or study material, I tend to think, “I’ve heard better,” and dismiss the entire
content.)
I am very ashamed to admit all of
these. Sure, I can be good at giving my stuff, time, money, and space… but
I also need to learn to receive well. Ruth was grateful, not demanding
or pushy. She didn’t reject Boaz’s gift. Nor did she put it all aside for
someone less fortunate (though she did save some for her mother-in-law).
My goal is to glean with the right
heart. I want to have a teachable spirit when I listen to a sermon. I want to
have a grateful heart when someone offers to take my kids for a playdate. I
would like to be graceful and respectful when a person holds the door for me.
My humility should shine, like Ruth’s, when God uses others to care for me.
I cannot think of a better way to
describe Ruth’s heart, and the one I hope to have, than this quote (by former
basketball player John Wooden):
Talent is God given. Be humble.
Fame is man-given. Be grateful.
Conceit is self-given. Be careful.
There you have it. Give-as-you-go, and
glean-with-a-grateful-heart. That’s how I am asking God to grow me this season.
How about you?
- Becky Rosty, MOPS Mom
Becky Rosty leads a college ministry with her husband in the shadow of the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming. She loves sunshine and s'mores and feels a personal responsibility to bring both to the people in her life.
Becky is also the future-mama to 3: twins due in July 2014, and a precious gift from South Africa, to arrive in 2015. For now she enjoys playing with her mini-golden doodle, Mr. Darcy.
She delights in her identity as a failure saved by Jesus' grace. She is also a singer/songwriter, hiker, home-maker, trip-taker, and scone-baker.
Becky has written several original Bible-studies and is passionate about speaking truth in love to young women. To book Becky for speaking engagements, contact via email: beckyrosty@gmail.com.
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