Jesus said those who lose their lives will find it and those who seek to save their lives would lose it . In a bid to save the Jews , Esther was ready to perish but did not perish . Orpah sought to save her life ; she wanted to remarry and have children ; she could not afford to throw her life away in the bid to care for an aged mother-in-law and so Orpah lost her life
ancestor because of her background as an idolater and the descendant of an incestuous union . But because she was a woman with a vision , she got it , even though she wasn ’ t seeking it .
Leaders who seek the good of others to their personal detriment are never destroyed . Jesus said those who lose their lives will find it and those who seek to save their lives would lose it . In a bid to save the Jews , Esther was ready to perish but did not perish . Orpah sought to save her life ; she wanted to remarry and have children ; she could not afford to throw her life away in the bid to care for an aged motherin-law and so Orpah lost her life . The Bible never mentioned her again . Ruth , however , did not care about her life , she was prepared to lose her life , and indeed she threw away any hopes of remarrying and having children in a bid to look after her aged mother-in-law . What she did not know was that in doing so she would find a better life as the wife of a wealthy man and an ancestor of Jesus , the saviour of the world . Today everyone who reads Christ ’ s genealogy will know that He had an ancestor named Ruth .
Leaders make tough decisions . Ruth ’ s decision to leave Moab with Naomi was not an easy one . It was a tough decision . It was a decision that meant she would never again see her homeland . It was a decision that meant she would never again see the people she loved and the people she had lived with all her life up until that point . It was a decision that meant she would leave the familiar for the unfamiliar . It was a decision that meant she would step into a future that was uncertain as she had no idea of telling what life in her mother-in-law ’ s country held for her . It was no easy decision , but Ruth decided nonetheless because leaders are people who make tough decisions . And , as it usually is for other leaders , Ruth ’ s tough decision paid off .
Leaders constantly operate outside their comfort zone . The day Ruth stepped out of Moab she stepped out of her comfort zone . However , the young woman was not deterred by this , as soon as they entered Bethlehem she was on her way to glean corn for herself and Naomi . She was new in the land . She was a stranger in the land . She was unfamiliar with the culture in the land . In Bethlehem , Ruth was out of her comfort zone but , like other leaders , she took charge and went on with her activities despite this fact .
Leaders are initiators . When Ruth arrived in Bethlehem with Naomi , she did not wait to be told what to do . No true leader sits around waiting to be told what to do . Leaders are initiators . When Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem , it was the beginning of the barley harvest . They had not planted and so had nothing to harvest but she knew if she went out to work they would have food to eat . She didn ’ t wait for Naomi to tell
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14 | DOZ Magazine | January 2017