A better role model than Britney

There is not a day that goes by when one of the 24-hour news networks does not have some story regarding the self-destruction of Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan. These women, who at one time thousands of girls harmlessly imitated, now strike fear in the hearts of fathers when their daughters look to them with admiration. What mentor can a young woman look to that will inspire pairing her beauty with integrity and intelligence?

Ruth was a true beauty. Her beauty was not the type that required airbrushing. It radiated from within. Her allurement revealed itself through her devotion, her determination and her charm.

Ruth was a woman who faced tremendous tragedy. In a day when a woman's safety, security and provision were found in the midst of her father, her husband or her husband's family, Ruth found herself facing life in the company of her mother-in-law. Naomi and Ruth, two widows -- the first bitter and angry about the loss of her husband and the second devoted to her mother-in-law and her God. These two journeyed across foreign lands into a future that had all the indicators of being very bleak.

Ruth became a sojourner by returning with Naomi to her homeland. Once there, she set out to provide for the two of them and quickly gained a reputation as a woman of great determination. She followed behind the grain reapers collecting what she could by keeping pace with the groups of men. Her hard work quickly built a reputation of extreme determination. Unbeknownst to her when she began, the field she was working happened to belong to Boaz, a man who saw her true beauty.

Ruth knew how to present herself well. She put on her best cloak, affixed herself with perfume and went late one night to the threshing floor to present herself to Boaz. Never compromising her integrity, she let him know of her desire for him, a desire which he in return possessed for her.

The Lord has provided for women and men of all ages examples to imitate and to shun. He does so to help us discover more about him and what he can do in our lives. Ruth is an example of beautiful integrity. Through her life only God, the creator of beauty, can work through tremendous tragedy to bring great hope. With God there are no coincidences. With God beauty is more than flesh.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband, father and serves as the associate pastor at the First Baptist Church in Jackson.