Boaz orders some of his harvest left behind.
A portion for others to collect in dignity and by their own initiative.
In Ruth 2:14–17, Ruth is a foreign widow gleaning in Boaz's field. Gleaning in that time meant walking behind the harvesters. Gleaners took whatever they missed. God's law left those scraps for the poor, the foreigners and the widows.
Ruth was all three.
After lunch when Ruth goes back to work, Boaz gives his young men orders. "Do not insult her." Leave some behind for her.
They could have handed her the food. Instead, he protects Ruth’s dignity.
She goes home with about enough grain that Naomi asks where on earth she worked.
Ruth may never have known why so much grain was left on the ground that day.
A strange truth: generosity can humiliate if we're careless. Sometimes we help in ways that glorify our help.
God shows us another way through Boaz. Help that lets the other person stand upright.
Imagine someone in your life who's struggling.
How could you leave some stalks behind for them this week, quietly, so they never have to ask?