In the Bible (Old Testament) there is a book called the Book of Ruth, named after a woman called by the same name, Ruth. Ruth was a daughter-in-law to a woman named Naomi, and was a descendant of Rahab (who helped the Israelite spies escape from Jericho, and became loyal to Israel, and is an ancestor of the genealogy of Joseph). Ruth was not idle, and did not eat the bread of idleness; she was industrious and kept herself busy in business (by gleaning the corn), instead of begging for money. Boaz owned the fields, and showed great compassion towards her. They later married, and had a son called Obed who begat Jesse, who begat David. Following her example, young Christians should keep themselves active by being industrious and in business, because we are called and taught to do so. Also we, as Christians, should not think too highly of ourselves, and be willing to labor and not to think it below ourselves to take on a certain job that the Lord has provided. Humility can be learnt from Ruth in her actions by gleaning corn.
Naomi experienced some testing times, when her husband passed away, and she had become poor. In the old days, and still to some extent today, names mean a lot about the situation the individual or family was in, and have a significance and have meaning behind them. Naomi changed her name to Mara, which means that God has dealt bitterly with me. She did not fill herself up with pride and glory, but abased and lowered herself in humility. As King Solomon said in the Book of Proverbs, pride comes before a fall. Even in times of tribulation and testing, God is there with us, even though He might seem silent, times will get better. We, as Christians, must remember we are sojourners (travelers) in this world, and don’t belong to the world but have been called out of the world. Our home is in Heaven with the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father. Follow the actions of Ruth and Naomi by demonstrating humility and industriousness in our walk with Jesus.