This chapter describes Elisha healing Naaman, a Syrian commander, of leprosy.
“So Gehazi [the servant of Elisha] followed Naaman. And when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot… and [Gehazi] said ‘…Please give… a talent of silver and two changes of clothing.’ And Naaman said, ‘Be pleased to accept two talents.’ … [Gehazi] went in and stood before his master, and Elisha said to him, ‘Where have you been, Gehazi? … Was it a time to accept money and garments, olive orchards and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male servants and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and to your descendants forever.’ So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.” (v21-27 abr)
Naaman brought significant wealth with him when seeking to be cleansed of his leprosy, and Elisha refused to accept anything from him. His servant Gehazi later followed Naaman, lied to him, and took a portion of the wealth for himself. Of course nothing is hidden from God, and He gives Elisha some prophetic knowledge concerning Gehazi’s actions and consequences.
Qui-Gon Jinn famously said “Greed can be a very powerful ally.” God, His word, and many faith traditions, would argue that ‘greed can be a very powerful trap’. Some faith traditions even classify greed as a ‘deadly sin’.
Greed is probably considered ‘deadly’ because it is often a gateway sin. Greed can open the door to many other sins such as deception, lust, covetousness, pride, selfishness, etc. If Gehazi’s greed had not snowballed into using deception with Naaman and/or Elisha, his consequences may have been less severe.
On the flip side of greed is God-honoring desire – God places desires in our hearts and He fulfills them, if we are properly aligned with Him (see Ps 37). Rooting ourselves in God (through prayer, scripture, ministry, etc) not only keeps our desires focused on Him and His blessings, it helps prevent our desires from being twisted into greed.
I encourage us to focus our desires on heavenly things, a deeper relationship with God, on God’s blessings, and on increasing our spiritual fruitfulness. When we do so, God will surely give us the desires of our hearts.
Father God, our One True Sovereign Lord, You provide abundantly for each and every one of us. Thank you for placing good and righteous desires within our hearts. Thank you for Your Spirit’s guidance as we seek to fulfill those desires through You. Thank you for surpassing our expectations and loving us more wholly than we could ever imagine. We honor, praise and adore You, in the name of Jesus our Savior, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training