- FOCUS: Ruth 1:6-22
Key verse: 16 and 17
But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people , and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us.”
Ruth had a choice to whom she wanted to be her close associates. She also had the choice of where she wanted live. Naomi persuaded Ruth and Orpah (Ruth’s sister in-law) to return to Moab their area of origin. Moab was a society whose women were noted for idol worshipping and sexual immorality (Numbers 25:1-3). Orpah choose to return to Moab but in Ruth 1:16, Ruth choose to set her social identity by choosing to go with Naomi to Bethlehem and living with Naomi’s people. This means Ruth choose the environment where she wanted to be (Bethlehem) and who she wanted to be with (Naomi and her people). Interesting to note is that before making these choices, Naomi had notified Ruth that things are bitter for her Naomi, insinuating that if Ruth has to follow her, things may not be easy too for Ruth. Notwithstanding, Ruth still choose Naomi and her people as those she wanted to be with and live with. If we read the later chapters of the book of Ruth, we will discover how the right social identity and mentorship from Naomi helped Ruth to fulfill her life purpose.
Our social identity has a great role to play during our singlehood season. Social identity is defined as “the part of the self that is defined by one’s group membership(www.thoughtCo.com)”. The singlehood season is a season of self-development, be it spiritually, professionally, morally etc. The right social identity will help you develop yourself positively, which is part of a strong foundation for purposeful living and a wrong social identity deters you from positive self-development.
Its necessary to ask yourself who are your close associates during this season. It is good to be very sociable, love everyone, being with family, friends, colleagues etc, nevertheless its good to identify what I call “close associates”. By Close associates here, I mean those who you are strongly connected to, your close company, be it via Christian fellowship association, professional association, friendship etc. These close associates are usually with, people you listen to, whom you can take advice from etc. These close associates are usually a strong part of your social identity, and in one way or the other influence your decisions. The right social identity will help you grow in the different spheres of your life while the wrong social identity may deter your growth in these different spheres of life. 1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV) says “ Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for bad company corrupts good character”.
During your singlehood season, having the right company really helps especially in the decisions you have to make. Also good mentorship (Christian, professional, peer etc) is of great essence. It is good to have a mentor, who is someone one with a sound mind you can look up to. You may have mentors in the different spheres of life. For instance, you can have a Christian spiritual mentor who will help your growth and your Christian faith walk; a professional mentor will help your professional growth; a peer mentor who may be friends who are your close company and can give sound advice etc. All these form part of your social identity an the right social identity is of great essence during the singlehood season.
BE CONSCIOUS! YOUR SOCIAL IDENTITY CAN HELP OR MAR YOUR POSITIVE SELF-DEVELOPMENT WHICH IS ESSENTIAL IN ATTAINING PURPOSE. I pray that during this singlehood season, God will link us to the right company/people/social environment who would help us grow positively in the different spheres of life.