DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- NAOMI OR MARA?

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – NAOMI OR MARA?

"But she said to them, 'Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?' " (Ruth 1:20-21)

Naomi had suffered some terrible things in her life. Her husband, Elimelech, had uprooted her and the family to take them to Moab because of famine in the land. Elimelech was only doing what he thought was the right thing. But it was no doubt hard on Naomi to be separated from her roots and her extended family.

To add to her misery, while they were in Moab, her husband died. Then her two sons died, leaving her alone in a foreign land. No wonder she was so bitter. Her whole outlook on life had been shattered. Before all of this came down, she had probably been a joy to be around, since the name Naomi means "my delight," or "pleasant." But now she takes the name Mara, which means bitter. From a natural standpoint, she probably had every reason to be bitter.

Naomi was negativism personified. Her outlook was very pessimistic. Have you been around negative, pessimistic people? They always see the dark side of life. They are like the man in the Dick Tracy comic strip who always had a cloud hanging over his head. They can never see anything positive – only darkness. That was Naomi, or Mara, as she called herself.

Naomi's real struggle was with the LORD God Almighty. Instead of blaming her husband, or the weather, or the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of her husband and her sons, she thought that God had caused all of these things. Her attitude was, "God has afflicted me." People who blame God for everything are hard to be around.

It is an indication of Ruth's character that she stuck with this bitter old woman. Ruth was committed to staying with her even thought it meant that she would be separated from her own family. She lived up to her name which means "friend or companion." Ruth was a delight to be around. She was a balm to Naomi's shattered soul. You can see her gentleness with Naomi throughout the story.

Personally, I would rather be a Naomi than a Mara. May I keep the perspective that God is good even in the negative times of life, and that He will use the negative to accomplish good, as he did with Naomi. I want to be the kind of friend committed to being a balm for someone's battered life. The Lord Jesus is such a friend. He is a companion who does not leave us, even when life is bitter.

Love, Dad