Ruth 2:1 “Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.”
Boaz was a landowner and an employer. He was a Godly man who was generous, thoughtful, and kind to his employees. He served his local community, and he was rich.
Principle: Godly, successful men will have good standing in their communities.
In the list of richest Americans there are well-known individuals who are admired in their communities. The list includes Bill Gates and Paul Allen of Microsoft, Warren Buffett the investor, the WalMart, Walton family members, Michael Dell of computers, the Mars candy people and more. Of the top 100, most of them were worth billions. They have accomplished a lot. But I have no knowledge about their godliness.
In an interview on PBS, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett talked about their riches. The subject of God never came up. There was extended discussion about them giving away billions of dollars to help the suffering and poor people in the world. Helping the poor is an often-repeated Biblical principle. God expects wealthy people to share from their surplus to benefit the needy in society. In the Gates/Buffet interview, the definition of “success” came up. Buffet noted that success had to do with net worth, the number of employees, or goals achieved. He also mentioned the difficulty in sorting out true friendships when you are rich. People want to be friendly for the wrong reasons. He closed with the notion that a person is truly successful if he has some friends who like him for who he is and a family who loves him.
There is more to say about success. You are also a success if you are a follower of Jesus and allow God to direct your way in business and in your community. If you allow the Holy Spirit to produce Christ-like character qualities in you, you are a success. For instance: if you have an attitude of servant leadership in your work community; if you have a godly influence in trade associations or other industry functions; if you offer emergency loans to troubled employees, as Boaz did.
Discussion:
1. In the community where you live, do you offer Godly wisdom and help?
2. What evidence is there in your business that you are practicing servant leadership?
3. Is there another Godly person in your community? Send them a note of encouragement, to remind them they are making a positive impact.
