Counting the cost of the choices we make
[Reposted from my old blog. Originally posted on 1/30/2013.]
Elimelek, together with his wife Naomi and his two sons, left Bethlehem in Judah to escape famine. They settled in a country called Moab. While living among the Moabites, Elimelek died. After living there for about 10 years, Naomi's two sons also died, leaving her a poor childless widow like her two Moabite daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth.
Upon learning that the situation in her home town had gotten better, Naomi decided to return. Orpah and Ruth went with her, but on the road back to Judah, Naomi urged her daughters-in-law to return to Moab. "But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!” (Ruth 1:11-13, NIV)
Orpah made the logical choice - to go back to her people and rebuild her life. She wept and kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to Naomi and insisted to go with her to Judah.
LESSONS LEARNED
From Elimelek and Naomi
The grass is not always greener on the other side. Interestingly, Bethlehem means "house of bread". For many Filipinos overseas, the main motivation for going abroad is to improve their lot. Many have been very fortunate to earn more and live better lives. There are thousands, however, who have found only greater suffering -- some in the hands of unscrupulous fake agencies, cruel employers, or harsh working conditions on top of difficult cultural adjustments, homesickness, unrealistic demands from relatives, and marital woes.
Elimelek and Naomi's story could very well be any migrant's tale. They hoped for a better life in Moab, only to end up bitter and afflicted; they looked for bread and found the grave; they came with little and ended up with nothing. Before deciding to leave your homes, count the real cost! Is the money you're going to earn really worth it? What else will you have to pay for? If you are married with children, how will years of absence impact your family? Sometimes, we have to make tough choices and sacrifices.
May the Lord bless our journey and keep us safe in this foreign land we now call home.
From Orpah
Finishing well matters more than starting well. On the way back to Judah, there were three of them: Naomi, Orpah and Ruth. Orpah had made the decision to go with Naomi. She had pledged her love for her mother-in-law. Yet somewhere, sometime, she wavered. On Noami's second attempt to dissuade them from continuing the journey with her, Orpah gave in.
We are like Orpah in many ways. We start off with good intentions and big commitments, only to back down when the going gets tough or when we come to a realization that things would be more difficult than we thought. Many times, I feel like "kissing" my calling good-bye; other times, I doubt if I do have a calling at all. When I decided to leave my job and go to Tung Ling, I was so full of faith and raring to accomplish what God had called me to do. After graduation and now back in Taiwan, I realized how "bad" the situation is - negative church finances, declining membership, dwindling savings. How far can we go?
May the Lord infuse new strength in us, so we can finish the journey.
From Ruth
Count the cost and go all the way anyway. Before she went on the journey with Noami, she surely knew that life would be hard. Naomi tried three times to make Ruth turn back. But Ruth was adamant to stay with her no matter what, ready for a life of poverty and hardship. Such self-sacrifice, devotion and commitment would be rewarded, as we would see in the succeeding chapters of the book of Ruth.
In deciding to stay with Naomi, Ruth abandoned her land, her people and her god Chemosh to follow YHWH, the one true living God. No turning back. No turning back. While reading this story, I imagined myself on the road to Judah with Naomi. I honestly don't like taking long walks, so the journey itself must've been daunting. The road to Judah was one thing; the situation on arriving there is another. Ruth must've thought of a lifetime of poverty, of the burden to care and provide for her aging mother-in-law, of being an outcast as an alien in a foreign land, of not being able to see her family ever again. But she was ready to pay the cost.
May the Lord give us the resolve to continue on despite what lies ahead.
We trust that He is true to His Word; that He remains faithful even in times when we are faithless; that we will not be defeated or put to shame but we will endure; that we will mount up on wings like eagles; that He will be our restorer and we will eat the fruit of the land; and that He who began the good work in us will carry it on to completion.