Polar Opposites Series

And Naaman’s arrogance almost caused him to throw away the gift of healing. It was only the intervention of his wise, humble servants that convinced this pompous man to swallow his pride and follow Elisha’s instructions.

This past Wednesday we saw a man who let his pride go out of control when we looked at King Asa. His dignity took a blow when a prophet rebuked him publically of his sins and called on him to repent. But instead of bowing to the Lord’s will, Asa’s conceit went out of control, and it nearly cost him his faith.

What sort of things are we tempted to be prideful of? How much money you make? The honor that you have on the job? The neighborhood that you live in? How long you’ve been a Christian? The many years you’ve gone to school? The skills that you have? Do you take pride in your ability to live an outwardly more-Christian life than someone else? Pride is a killer, and it sure doesn’t mix with humility. The greatest example of humility that I can think of is our God, Jesus Christ, crawling around on the floor and bathing the filthy, stinking feet of his disciples. Jesus humbled himself so that lowly worms like us would be exalted in realms of heaven! And then Jesus said, “Do you want to say thank you to me for taking away your sins of pride and unbelief? Do you want to say thank you to me for giving you the key to heaven’s door? Do you want to say thank you to me for saving you from the eternal fires of hell? Say thank you by living a humble life as I lived for you. Be prepared to lower yourself even to the point of washing the feet of everyone else.”

There’s a passage that sheds more light on the polar opposites of humility and pride. It goes, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” The proud person is the enemy of God. The humble person is the friend of Jesus.

Conclusion

You and I have only one thing to boast about: we are friends of God! That little girl was able to make that humble, faith-filled boast as she witnessed her faith to her unbelieving masters. And by the grace of God, the Lord really turned Naaman around. The healing of the leprosy, that’s a nice little part of this story. But the real important part is how God filled Naaman up with faith and humility. The disease was a blessing in disguise. Leprosy or no leprosy, Naaman either way would be long dead by now. But he lives on, in heaven. If not for that disease, he never would have felt the need to find the True God. Without his humble slave girl, he never would have heard about the Lord.

When you are tempted to doubt God’s promises, remember that 2-Liter bottle with oil and water not mixing. Neither can your doubt mix with faith! Get rid of it, and have a simple, strong trust that God is going to work everything out. Remember that 2-Liter bottle when you are tempted to think of yourself as an important person. Pride sure doesn’t mix very well with humility. And thank Jesus that he has turned you from being a conceited unbeliever on your way to hell to a humble Christian who has heaven to look forward to! Amen.

sdg