I just read a historical account that illustrates how strong character can be. Let me paraphrase the historical facts for you, changing locations to make it more real to us today.
A family in the African country of Malawi, hard hit by famine, was running out of food. The husband read that there was plenty of food in Canada, so decided to move there with his wife and two sons. Soon they were settling in a small Canadian town, trying to fit into a new culture. All was well at first, but soon the husband died. Naomi, the mother, was left alone with the two boys. She did her best to care for them, and as the sons became adults, they married Canadian girls – girls who were not from Malawi. One girl was named Orpah, and the other was named Ruth. The Malawi men and their Canadian wives, as well as the widowed Naomi, continued to live happily in Canada for ten years.
Then, suddenly, both sons died. Naomi was left with neither husband nor children. She had no relatives in Canada. All of her family was in Malawi. The famine had ended in Malawi by then, due to the building of an extensive irrigation network. So Naomi decided to go home. Her Canadian daughters-in-law loved Naomi very much, and decided to go with her. The women packed their belongings and departed from Toronto Pearson International Airport.
At a stop-over in London, England, however, the girls’ decision was tested – and so was their character. Naomi told the girls clearly how different life would be if they went on to Malawi. She urged them to go back to Canada, back to friends and family. She thanked them for being so kind to her sons and to her, and kissed them good-bye.
At first, both girls cried, and insisted that they would go on to Malawi with Naomi; but upon further consideration, Orpah, with grief and a kiss of respect, hurried away to exchange her ticket for the return trip to Canada.
Naomi turned to Ruth, and said, “Your sister-in-law is going back to Canada. Go with her.”
Ruth refused. She clung to Naomi. “Don’t make me go,” she said. “I want to go with you. I want to live with you. I want to become a Malawi citizen.” She exercised responsibility. She exercised strong character. She went and lived with Naomi in Malawi.
It is easy to say you love character when it dances through a meadow of wild flowers. It is quite another thing to cling to character when it heads down a dark, rocky path. The kiss of good words for character education or character building is cheap and easy, but the practical exercise of character is often costly and difficult.
How strong is your character? As strong as Ruth’s?
Orpah returned to Canada, and no more was written about her. Ruth lives in the history of Malawi, and in the history of the world. She lives on as a woman of character, and the mother of an amazing line of descendents. You can find her story easily on the Internet by typing the three women’s names into one search.
What a difference we could make in the global society if each of us built character as strong as Ruth’s character.
That’s the view from my chair. What’s your view?