Purity (Ruth 3)

See the cute animal on the left? Its called an Ermine. Part of the weasel family.

And legend has a very interesting tale about this cute animal.
The ermine isn't usually white but it turns that colour in the winter to better camouflage itself in the temperate climates where it lives. When white however, the ermine treasures its coat so much that it'll rather die than see itself soiled. Hunters used this characteristic of the ermine to better hunt it down. They would dirty the entrance of the ermine's burrow with soil, dirt and the like. Therefore, when the ermine races back to its burrow to seek refuge and safety, it'll stop short at the entrance, stand there stunned at its dirty home and refuse to enter. That's when hunters swoop in to make the kill.

This legend (no real scientific record of it being totally true) made the ermine a symbl of purity in the 15th & 16th century.

This quality of purity is vast lacking in the world today. And I'm referring purity in all senses of the word, not only in the sexual sense (though this aspect of purity is most often abused). I mean, with movies like the 40 year-old virgin and a slogan like "Better Late Than Never", it does display about how the world view sex and purity. And if you're saving your virginity for your marriage, well... that's being viewed as cutely naive.

The Bible's view on purity is of course totally different. And both Ruth and Boaz display this quality in their interaction in Ruth 3. Personally, Boaz displayed tremendous righteousness when he literally pushed away a lady who "came on to him". This might not be the main theme of Ruth, but it was something that I was really reminded about.

How we as Christians should learn to be pure in all that we do. We've been bought at a price. And by that, we're now righteous in God's eyes. Will we belittle the work of the Cross by choosing temporary ecstasy than eternal purity? (and this applies to both mind and actions). I end of with this famous and well-used passage:

^"7Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; ⁸for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come... ¹¹Command and teach these things. ¹²Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. "

1 Timothy 4:7-8, 11-12