June 1, 2008

Ruth: The Way Life Ought to be Lived

Tracey Bailey’s Greatest Lesson

Ruth 1:1-7

Opening Words: It has become my custom to take the summer months and preach on a single Old Testament personality. I do this for two main reasons. First, our tradition believes in the witness of both the Old and New Testament. The problem is our church is out of balance. The New Testament dominates our church and the Old Testament stands as a silent partner. There is something wrong about this partnership. The Old Testament is important to our discipleship because it holds divine truth for holy living. Second, we live in Biblically illiterate times. That is painfully true. Many struggle to remember the simplest Bible stories and verses. Simply telling these Old Testament stories is important because it gives you the opportunity to reconnect with them. Over the past few years we examined the lives of Nehemiah, Esther, Elijah and Joseph. This summer we will look at the life of Ruth. She lived her life in the way we ought to live ours. Let me call this morning’s message Tracey Bailey's Greatest lesson.

Ruth 1:1-7 ¹ In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. ² The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

    ³ Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴ They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, ⁵ both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

⁶ When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. ⁷ With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

Tracey Bailey was days away from his high school graduation. He remembers his high school days as good days in his life. He was both popular and well liked. He was on the wrestling team and won an athletic scholarship for the coming fall. He had a good life until he messed it up. On the Friday night before graduation he decided to have some real fun. He and a friend broke into the local country club and stole all the beer they could find. They got drunk and decided it would be fun to vandalize the rival high school. They did and the next day they were arrested. When the news spread the entire community was shocked and the wrestling scholarship was revoked. He spent the entire summer not waiting for college to start but for his sentencing. The judge assigned the case was know as a hard nosed judge but everyone told him not to worry. Everyone is entitled to one mistake. Everyone was wrong. Tracey Bailey was sentenced to five years at the Indiana Youth Center. His high school friends were quickly replaced by the hardest people he had ever known. This young, bright, promising boy was going to spend the best years of his life sitting in a cell regretting the foolish mistakes. He felt like he had ruined his life before it began.

Have you ever felt imprisoned by regrets from your past? What regrets do you carry around with you on a daily basis? Does anyone here feel imprisoned by a mistaken marriage? Does anyone here feel imprisoned by the regret of being too busy when your children were young? Does any regret being too hard on your children when they were young, or not hard enough? Does anyone here regret buying their home? It really is a little more than you could handle financially. Does anyone here regret buying that new car? The new car smell is gone but the payments remain. Does anyone here regret buying the dog to teach the kids some responsibility? The kids learned nothing! You take care of the dog and your life is limited because of your four legged friend. Does anyone here today feel imprisoned by the regret of moving to a new community, tearing your family away from their friends and their school?

That is really the story in the first chapter of Ruth. The opening verses of this book are not about Ruth. They are about her mother-in-law, Naomi. Years earlier, she and her husband, Elimelech, made the difficult decision to leave their home near Jerusalem in Bethlehem and move fifty miles to Moab. Fifty miles to our ears doesn’t seem too bad but to Naomi and Elimelech it was like another planet. Everything was different. In Bethlehem they were somebodies. Verse two says they were Ephrathites. In Moab they were nobodies. In Jerusalem they spoke Hebrew. In Moab they spoke a different tongue. In Jerusalem they worshiped the one true God. In Moab they believed in human sacrifice. You really can’t blame them for moving. They moved for a single reason. A famine had come to their land. They were going to starve. The move was supposed to be temporary but it has turned into permanent. I believe Naomi regretted that move everyday of her life. Everyday she wondered how life was at home. The book of Ruth begins not with a party but in a sea of regret. What is your greatest regret? How well do you handle your regrets?

This morning I want to look at how well we handle our regrets. My goal is to give you some relief. I am going to help you by looking at three simple points. Each one is illustrated for us in the first seven verses of Ruth. So if you are ready for my three points say, “Amen!”

Life is filled with choices.

My first statement is life is filled with choices. During World War II, Winston Churchill was forced to make a painful choice. The British secret service had broken the Nazi code and informed Churchill that the Germans were going to bomb Coventry. He had two alternatives: (1) evacuate the citizens and save hundreds of lives at the expense of indicating to the Germans that the code was broken; or (2) take no action, which would kill hundreds but keep the information flowing and possibly save many more lives. Churchill had to choose and followed the second course.  Do you think that Winston Church regretted his choice later? Not every choice we make is a matter of life and death. However, every choice is taxing.

The words of Eleanor Roosevelt still ring true: One's philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

This morning we recognize our seven graduates. We are proud of you. Let me say this clearly. Your graduation day is one of the red letter days in your life. Graduations are a time to reflect back and a time to look forward. In a certain light your graduation is not the end, it is the beginning of a new chapter in your life. And with the new chapter comes many choices. What are you going to do with the rest of your life? The question of your childhood becomes the question of your future. What do you want to do when you grow up? Do you go on to college or graduate school? What college are you going to attend? Do you get a job? Do you stay in the area or do you move away? Do you want to buy or rent? Do you want to stay single or marry? Whom are you going to marry? Be careful with that choice. Many are making the wrong choice. Do I have to go on? When I get to heaven I am going to ask many questions. One of those questions is why are we forced to make the most important decisions in our lives when we are young and have so little experience? Have you ever asked that question?

My first is point is life is filled with choices. Elimelech and Naomi made a choice to move to Moab. At some point in their lives they looked at their options and decided to move. Their choice was obvious. Either move or starve. By the end of the scripture reading Naomi made another choice to move back home. Life is filled with choices. Have you ever gotten tired of making choices? And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Hind site is 20/20.

My second statement is hind site is 20/20. David Russell said, “The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.” Dr. Richard Kinnier of Arizona State University said, “We all have regrets. The most common regret was not being a better student, not studying more. Other common regrets include not being more assertive, not having more self-discipline, not taking more risks, not spending quality time with families.” My second point is hind site is 20/20.

Several weeks ago PBS interviewed Colin Powell. You remember him. He was the head of the forces during Desert Storm. He said for years people would ask him why his troops didn’t push into Iraq. Why didn’t you take Baghdad? Why didn’t they replace the government? He said he could feel their anger and frustration. Times have changed. We have learned some things as a nation. He said no one asks him that question anymore. Why? He said in time the military pushed into Iraq. They took Baghdad and replaced the government. However, the situation is so complex. Colin Powell says people are still angry and frustrated but reasons has changed. People are no longer frustrated that we didn’t attack. They are frustrated now because we did attack. They are frustrated because we aren’t retreating. I do not know what the answer to the Iraqi situation is but I do know this: hind site is 20/20.

In the Old Testament there is no well developed understanding of an afterlife. There is no concept of getting your reward in heaven. In the Old Testament one was rewarded by God by receiving blessings in this world. The problem for Naomi is she has received no blessings. She looked at her life and all she saw was heartache. There was much pain in her life. She was forced out of her home by the famine. Her sons had died. She is a stranger in a strange country. She wonders what went wrong. She is living in a sea of regret. She regrets moving to Moab and she wonders how her life would have changed if she would have stayed at home. Hind site is 20/20. If you can agree with that say, “Amen!”

God can use our regrets.

My third statement is God can use our regrets. Naomi thinks her life is over. She thinks God is done with her. She was wrong. Consider this with me. If Naomi would have stayed in Bethlehem then her sons would have married Hebrew women. Without the move Naomi’s son never would have met Ruth. Naomi never would have met Ruth. Who was Ruth? In time we learn Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of King David. This Gentile woman is so highly respected that she is listed in Jesus’ genealogy (Matthew 1:5). Naomi regretted the move to Moab but God was able to use that regret. It is as true today as it was in the days of Ruth and Naomi. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Tracey Bailey was sentenced to five years in the Indiana Youth Center. He did as the judge requested. He considered his consequences and he felt guilty. He thought his life was over. Tracey Bailey was wrong. On one particularly bad day he returned to his cell. To his surprise he found a Bible on his bed. He picked it up and began to read it. He accepted an invitation to join a Bible study and learned that his life wasn’t over. God can use our regrets. After fourteen months he was released on probation. He went home and took odd jobs to pay off his legal fees. He began studying at the local community college, majoring in education. Upon graduating, he took a job in Satellite Beach, Florida, teaching science. However, his days at the Indiana Youth Center never left him. He found himself reaching out to students who had to prove their toughness but were weak to peer pressure. Tracey Bailey didn’t become just a good teacher. He became a great teacher. In 1993, Tracey Bailey found himself in the rose garden of the White House with President Clinton. He was recognized as the National Teacher of the Year. Tracey Bailey’s greatest lesson has nothing to do with science. His greatest lesson has to do with life itself. Tracey Bailey learned in life what we all need to learn in life. God can use our regrets.

What regrets do you carry today? What things in your past keep you up at night? How long are you going to punish yourself? Never forget! We are in this world for a reason. Don’t give up on yourself because God will never gives up on you. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”