Am I Chopped Liver?

“She replied to them, ‘Don’t call me Naomi, but call me Mara, for the Almighty has made me very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has returned me empty.’ Ruth 1:20-21(a) (CEB)

Have you ever felt that you were nothing but chopped liver? This was my response to something funny my cousin Joyce had said in a recent conversation. She said it would make for a good devotion but I wasn’t so sure so I had some digging to do to equate this to the scriptures.

No, there is not a place in the Bible where those words actually appear, but we can take the situation from the story of Naomi and Ruth, putting ourselves in Ruth’s place for a moment when Naomi makes the statement above.

To give a short review, Naomi’s husband has died as well as both of her sons, thus leaving her with her two daughters in law. Upon making her decision to return to Judah, both girls initially were going to accompany her home. Naomi begged them not to come with her but rather stay back where they might be taken care of, this was because she felt she had nothing to offer them. One did turn back but Ruth hung in there and travelled with Naomi back to Judah. Once they arrived in Bethlehem, everyone was excited to see Naomi, but she then asked them not to call her by that name, but Mara because of her bitterness. She said basically that she had been left with nothing. But there was Ruth, who had walked every step of the journey with her. In verses 16-17, you can read of the love and respect Ruth had for her mother in law and her determination to stay with her. I can imagine her at the moment Naomi declares she’s left with nothing, feeling a little like chopped liver!

From the website www.english.stackexchange.com we see that chopped liver isn’t a desired comparison:

Chopped liver is a yucky dish that we have to eat because someone always thinks they have the culinary skills to make the unpalatable palatable. And then they shove it up your face begging you to try it. Not only is it of little value, it is annoying.

As Paul Harvey would put it, now for the rest of the story…Ruth married Boaz and she gave birth to the grandfather of King David, a man after God’s own heart.

When you’re feeling less than – remember God will use even chopped liver to accomplish His purpose!