Pride and Greed

 

In my recent scripture reading, my attention was captured by an interesting exchange in 2Kings chapter 5. Naaman was a captain of the Aramean army and a valiant warrior, who had leprosy. He hears that a possible solution to his health crisis may be available in Israel. Naaman’s wife has a servant girl who was taken captive during a previous battle with Israel and she tells her mistress that the God of Israel has the power to heal, even leprosy. She wishes her master could see the prophet of Israel to receive prayer and healing.

This possibility peaks Naaman’s interest enough to go to the king of Aram and seek permission to go to Israel. The king of Aram grants permission and sends Naaman, the commander of his army to Israel with a letter he wrote to the king of Israel and some gold and silver as payment. The king of Israel is understandably suspicious of this visit and the request from Aram’s king. After all they are enemy countries, and Israel’s king wonders if this is some kind of trap. Elisha, the prophet heard of this and inquires further. He ends up sending for Naaman to come to his house. Naaman comes with his entourage of horses and chariots, expecting to meet this great prophet of the God of Israel. But Elisha sends a servant to the door with a message for Naaman. He instructs him to go wash in the Jordan river seven times and promises that he will be cured of his leprosy.

Naaman’s response is outrage and he leaves Elisha’s house angry. Naaman is offended that the prophet did not meet him personally, didn’t pray or perform any healing or prayer ritual and he is not in any way inclined to bathe in the Jordan river. In verse 13, one of Naaman’s servants confronts him: “Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 

Naaman’s pride is confronted. The servant’s question exposes that Naaman’s expectation was not met and so he is angry and feels de-valued by the instructions he was given. Perhaps Naaman had brought gifts and signs of his prestige and wealth. He came with authority from the king of his country and yet only received simple, common instructions from the servant of this great prophet. Naaman’s servant points out that Naaman would have performed a task readily had it felt significant or difficult. The servant wants Naaman to follow through with the prophet’s instructions and see what happens.

Naaman’s response follows in verse 14: “So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.”  The instructions Elisha gave were simple and yet the result was supernatural: Naaman was healed of leprosy and his body was restored!

As the narrative continues, we see that Naaman returns to Elisha with praise, gratitude and acknowledgement of Israel's’ God. He tried to express his gratitude by giving Elisha gifts, but the prophet refused them. Elisha’s servant, Gehazi witnessed this interaction between Naaman and his master. His thoughts and response is recorded in verse 20: “But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman.”

Gehazi ends up speaking with Naaman, lying that his master had sent him requesting silver and clothing for 2 young men who were sons of prophets. Naaman is quick and generous to meet this request, giving twice the amount of silver requested. Gehazi facilitates the exchange and takes the silver and clothes to his own house before returning to his master Elisha.

Elisha inquires of Gehazi where he has been. Gehazi lies and says he hadn’t gone anywhere. Elisha apparently knew all along and he corrects his servant saying that this is not the time to receive gifts and payment. His judgement is swift and harsh: “the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.” So he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.”  Gehazi, motivated by greed, went after Naaman to pursue and receive for himself a payment that his master had refused. His consequence was to receive the disease that his master had just cured Naaman of!

Naaman’s pride nearly prevented him from receiving healing. He wanted to earn it, pay for it or at least have some big showy part in receiving the power that Elisha possessed. Confronted by the humility and simplicity of Elisha’s faith, Naaman’s response was pride and anger. Luckily for Naaman, his pride was exposed and he humbled himself to obey the prophet’s instructions. His reward was being healed completely. After he was healed, he tried to express his gratitude with generosity, but it was refused and he went on his way. At this point Gehazi is confronted by his own version of pride. His master has just done a great thing in healing a man from a horrible and incurable disease, and yet refused to be rewarded for it. Gehazi wants to receive what was offered to his master. While it is not his to receive, he cannot bear to see it not received at all. He is willing to be dishonest and dishonor his master in order to get something for himself. In the end he gets much more than he ever expected. Gehazi gets silver and wealth, but also a lifetime of disease and all that comes with it. Elisha’s words promise that even Gehazi’s descendants will be punished with leprosy for his actions.

Pride and greed poison our motive in similar ways. Both are self-focused and desire recognition at any cost. Pride is hungry for prominence and recognition. It causes us to look for external validation for value and significance. Similarly, greed motivates us to attempt to add worth to ourselves by seeking what can be gained from others and outside circumstances. In Naaman and Gehazi we witness the destructive impact of this poison at work.  Elisha, by contrast is not self-focused in this passage. He is not seeking credit or compensation for the miracle of healing. He offered to heal Naaman, but did it in a way that pointed only to God’s power, not his own. He did not receive payment or honor for himself in return. Elisha demonstrates true honor. He is not looking to be honored, but to honor the one whom he is dependent on.

Naaman demonstrates honor in his choice to follow Elisha’s instructions. He humbles himself and takes a risk that this simple act will connect him with an unseen power. It does, and he is healed. His generosity may have been motivated by honor in his desire to give gifts to Elisha and Gehazi. Elisha demonstrates honor in this passage by giving credit to God and not receiving payment or reward. Gehazi could have shown honor to Elisha by following his example and not desiring compensation.

This chapter is a sobering reminder of the dangers of acting out of pride and greed. Honor and humility are qualities we repeatedly see in the accounts of Elisha throughout scripture. He took decisive action; he released God’s power in extraordinary ways that impacted the lives of many. And yet his focus was not on himself and his own value. His focus was on God and his connection to Him. When we chose to focus on God for our value and significance, we are less likely to be motivated by pride or greed. Our dependence on God keeps us in a place of giving and receiving honor based on our connection with Him.