Pride and Prejudice: Sermon 2 Kings 5:1-14

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

How many of you have ever heard this? “I don’t need any help; I’ve got it under control.” Or “I have done it this way all my life and that is the way I’m going to do it till I die.” Or “We’re not lost, I know exactly where I am, I don’t need to ask for directions.” Now, how many of us have said this? These are among some of the so-called “famous last words”. The ones we utter right before a disaster. All these sayings have the same motive behind them…pride. Pride is a funny emotion because it is both good in a way and bad in a way. We are proud of our spouses, kids, friends, and family when they accomplish a goal, we might even be proud of ourselves when we accomplish a goal. There is nothing wrong with this.

Pride is also consider one of the seven deadly sins, in fact in most lists it is the most deadly of them all because it is the one that the others originate from. Satan was God’s most beautiful angel but because he thought he could be equal to God, a thought brought on by pride, he was cast out and forever cursed by separation from God. There are different levels of pride and it is in what direction you go as to whether your pride is deadly or not. If your pride builds community and relationship and is directed outward then it can be a good thing. However, if your pride is concentrated inward, it can lead to jealousy, narcissism, selfishness, and contempt.

Our Scripture lesson today is a story that has both the good side and the bad side of pride and how pride can be used to serve and if not checked can prevent God’s plan from working in a life. The story is that of Naaman. Naaman is a general in the army of Aram; in fact he is the head general. He holds a position of high honor; he is in the king’s inner circle. Naaman has wealth, power, many lands, and he is blessed by God. However, he has a skin condition; the Bible refers to as leprosy. Now the Hebrew word that we translate as leprosy does not necessarily mean the skin rotting disease called Hanson’s Disease. It could mean a general skin aliment like psoriasis, ringworm, or a rash. It was not debilitating or disabling because Naaman had risen to such a high place of honor in the Aramean Army. However, it was irritating and embarrassing and he would have been considered, at least by the Israelites, to be ceremonially unclean. So let us follow Naaman in his journey to healing and we can see the good and bad side of pride and how it helped Naaman and how if almost cost him his miracle.

Let’s look at the characters in this story. First, we have Naaman’s slave girl, who had become a servant to his wife. She was a captive from Israel, probably taken in the last battle with the Israelites. She could have hated her captor, but instead she felt sorry for Naaman and his skin condition. She remembers her homeland and she was proud of the fact that Israel was home to a prophet that she knew could heal him. She remembers Elisha and so she tells her master about this man and his healing powers. Her pride was directed outward not inward. She was not proud of herself but of her homeland and she directed her pride to help someone else. Because of the pride she had for her homeland and the men of God within, Naaman begins his journey of healing.

Next, Naaman goes to see the King of Aram. He tells his king what his servant had told him and asks permission from the King to travel to Samaria to see this prophet. Now the King could have gotten angry, what was wrong with the prophets in Aram? He could have sent 10,000 troops to Samaria to capture this prophet and bring him back to Aram. He does neither. Instead, the king of Aram sends a message to the king of Israel telling him that Naaman is coming to be healed. This is not a command because the King sends treasures to the king of Israel as payment. The king of Aram does not let his pride in his power get the best of him. Remember that Aram and Israel were enemies and so it sending a tribute to the king of Israel is an act of humility not of pride. It has been said that absolute power corrupts absolutely and much of that corruption comes from pride. It has been the downfall of many a leader. A dictator who has supreme rule often begins to think of himself as invincible which only leads to destruction, destruction of not only himself but also of his people. The King of Aram understands this and he wants to see his commander healed of his affliction and so he puts his pride away. The King of Aram gives the king of Israel courtesy before Naaman’s travels.

That leads us to the next person in Naaman’s journey the king of Israel. The Scriptures do not say which king it is, but we can guess by his reaction to the King of Aram’s message that he was not a good one. The Israelite king has two problems he has such a great pride in himself that he thinks that the King of Aram could only be asking him personally to heal Naaman and he has little pride, or confidence in God to give him the power to heal. The Israelite king tears his clothes in mourning and cowers in fear. Pride has its advantages in certain circumstances. It gives us confidence to go out and do God’s work. We have to have the confidence that God is with us and works through us.

This is the kind of confidence that Elisha has in God. Elisha hears of the situation and hears that the King is in fear and has torn his clothes. Elisha says to the king send Naaman to me and he will learn that there IS a prophet in Israel. This is great confidence in God’s power. Now let’s note something, this is confidence not arrogance. Arrogance is the idea that one can do it all on one’s own, the “I don’t need to ask directions mentality.” Elisha is not arrogant because knows that it is not he who has the power, but it is God who works through him. He understands the power of God works through him and not because of him. God works in God’s own plan and in God’s own way through Elisha. Elisha does not weld God’s power nor does he command God to heal. Elisha knows that God is always with him and that gives him confidence, but Elisha also knows that without God he has nothing and that all things work through God’s plan that prevents arrogance.

Now we come to the star of the show, so to speak, the main character in this story and that is Naaman himself. Naaman has endured this skin condition and lifted himself up to the position of high commander of the Aramean army. Our story is his journey to healing and in the beginning his pride is in check. He first listens to his wife’s servant, a slave girl, who tells him of a healer in Samaria. Most masters would not be so open to receive advice from their slaves, but we might assume that Naaman has a good relationship with his servants because later in the story his servants call him “father”. So he then asks permission from his King to go to Samaria. He could have simply gone without approval. Her had control of the armies, he was in the inner circle; he might have assumed that he didn’t need permission. He is even willing to go to a prophet in an enemy country in order to be healed. His pride is in check, he is not arrogant, but humble. Then he reached Elisha’s door.

Naaman live a life of expectations. He was a commander and so he expected his orders to be done without question. He expected to be greeted and treated with respect and honor. So when he reaches Elisha’s door and there is no welcome he becomes irritated. When Elisha does not even come outside to great him and instead sends a messenger he goes from irritated to furious. He had never been treated this way before. How dare that little Israelite send a messenger instead? And the cure the prescribed, to wash 7 times in the Jordan, why should he wash himself in that dirty old river in Israel, his native rivers were far more majestic and beautiful. His pride that was kept in check turned into arrogance and rage directed at Elisha.

So why does Elisha send a messenger instead? It was not to insult Naaman but to teach him. Even the most decorated solider, commander must become humble before God in order to receive God’s power. Pride must go out the window and humility to the one true God must come in. Elisha wanted Naaman to know that God is not like Burger King, you can’t have things your way; it has to be God’s way. We live in a society of 30 second drive-thrus and 30 minute pizza delivery. We want things instantaneously, high speed internet, cell phones, speedy cars, we want things done now. Here’s a news flash, God don’t work that way. God’s power is not a tool to be wielded, but a plan that must come into fruition.

So what happens, Naaman’s pride and arrogance almost cost him a miracle. It is only by the urging of his servants that Naaman is convinced to take Elisha’s advice. He has to submit to God’s will before the power can come out and it is a simple request; wash 7 times in the Jordan River. When he does he is miraculously restored, his skin is like a youthful boy’s skin. He understands, for the firs time, what true power is and that he almost missed the chance. Naaman returns to Elisha and tells him that there is no God in the entire world except the God of Israel.

Pride can lead to arrogance, narcissism, and selfishness, when that pride is turn inward. When we feel that we can only rely on ourselves, we can do it better. We miss out on so many opportunities when we allow pride and arrogance to take over. However, when we turn our pride outward and focus it on others and on God, our pride turns to confidence and we are strengthened. God does not follow orders and does not work on our timetable. God works through us in the ways that God sees fit. We only have to have the ability to see it. Let go and let God.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

That what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

And that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.