Pride's Unreasonableness

"But Naaman became angry and stalked away. 'I thought he would surely come out to meet me!' he said. 'I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! Aren't the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? Why shouldn't I wash in them and be healed? So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. But his officers tried to reason with him and said, 'Sir, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he simply says to go and wash and be cured!'" II Kings 5:11-13

Approaching the big 5-0 has caused me to pause and consider life's journey so far. Why didn't I ask for help when I needed it? Why wouldn't I heed the wise counsel of those around me? Why did I persist in a course of action that was clearly flawed? Why do I dwell on 'I' to the neglect of others? Why do I insist that I'm not the problem? You already know the answer don't you? ... The unreasonableness of pride.

Apparently Naaman, the man in our story for the day, suffered from this same affliction along with his leprosy. He was not going to submit to some stupid command. He was a warrior, a general, not some nobody who gets told to dip in a river by some servant. He should receive some fanfare, a dramatic show of power. He would have died a leper if not for his officers speaking some tough truth to him.  They basically told him to get over himself and do what he had been told. Great advice by the way. 

As long as we insist on being the big deal, we will remain stuck in whatever "leprosy" has invaded our lives. We will not experience God's power and deliverance until we humbly obey. As James says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."    

Grace and Peace,

Tom

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