Taken for granted
We do things for people, sometimes because we want to, sometimes because we have to and sometimes because we are paid to. And others do things for us. We all have obligations and duties that are taken for granted.
But the cost of obligation is sometimes very high; a work contract that demands long hours and a great deal of stress; long term care of a dependent that demands loss of independence and an abandoned career. And the burden can be heavier when our service is taken for granted. Naomi's Moabite daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, incorporated into their husbands' family, widowed and childless, had an obligation of care for their mother-in-law. She had chosen to return to her own country and they would have to go too. But this was a hard path - the long journey, the inevitable poverty of widowhood, the unlikelihood that anyone would marry Moabite women, and therefore no children of their own to compensate.
Naomi, understanding these costs and not taking them for granted, freed them from their obligation to her. She wants the best for them, so she frees them to choose to go back with a clear conscience as Orpah does, or to choose to go with her freely, as Ruth does. She praises them for their kindness and blesses them.
In the multiplicity of our relationships, there are those who in different ways are 'obliged' to us. Subordinates with contractual duties to do things our way; children who should 'honour' us; the people in teams we manage; the plumber or cleaner we employ.
We can drive a hard bargain, holding them to the highest standards, getting our money's worth, or simply take them for granted. But we can, like Naomi, show that we grateful for all they do even if we are paying for it, so that the emphasis is on service that is appreciated rather than grudging duty adequately performed. Sometimes we can free them to choose to walk away, but we can ensure that they know we appreciate them, so that they are free to serve because they choose to and not because they have to.
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