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ARTICLES AND ESSAYS

It was Carol Moore’s last week at CAM Center. She was leaving because she was moving to Arkansas; she has been sorely missed.

Carol was one of the people who helped Jan and me a great deal when we joined CAM and served in Guatemala. At that time, she was the gal in the mailroom, which she ran with great efficiency. One of her jobs was to get stuff for us missionaries. She found things, bought things, shipped things—all kinds of things. On one occasion, I needed 20 soccer balls for the Christian Academy of Guatemala. She bought them, smushed all the air out of them, and stuffed them in a suitcase. When they arrived, it was cause for great celebration.

Carol always served selflessly, cheerfully, without complaint. She has a servant’s heart. She understands the meaning of biblical service. She lives out Psalm 100:2, “Serve the LORD with gladness.”

The Bible has much to say about how to do God’s work. There are several passages that speak to the issue of the attitude of the servant of God; one of those passages is 2 Kings 5. The narrative pivots around the dilemma faced by Naaman, the commanding general of the Aramean army, a great man, highly respected, "but he had leprosy" (5:1). He could command great armies and win great military victories, but he could not conquer this crippling disease. We learn much about serving God from the response of the people of God to Naaman.

The Israelite Servant Girl

Fortunately for Naaman, a girl who had been taken captive by a raiding party of Aramean soldiers served his wife. This young girl, who knew that she would never see her family again—in fact they were probably killed in the raid on her village—might have been tempted to become bitter. But it is evident by her genuine concern for Naaman, and by her words, that she accepted the providential care of God and understood the power of God. The concise narrative reveals her character: She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy” (vs. 3).

When we accept the providence of God, we experience the peace of God. I once heard Elisabeth Elliot say, “Gratitude is accepting what is given and what is not given; in acceptance there is peace.”

Elisha, the Man of God

When Naaman arrived at Elisha’s front door with his entourage, he expected to be treated in the manner he thought someone of his importance deserved. Instead, the man of God sent one of his servants to deliver his instructions.

Naaman was put off for three reasons: He expected Elisha to attend to him personally, he thought Elisha would do something “religious,” and he expected to be told to do something dramatic, some “great thing.” So he “was furious and went away.”

But his own servants convinced him of the logic of it all, “So he went down and dipped 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” (vs. 14).

Naaman was so grateful to be delivered of his incurable disease that he became a believer in the God of Israel (vs. 15), and he offered Elisha the lavish gifts of silver, gold, and clothing, which he had originally intended for the King of Israel (vs. 5).

But Elisha refused the gifts. He was very careful not to communicate in any way that a relationship with God could be bought. And so Naaman returned to Damascus with two mule loads of good Israelite dirt so that he could worship the God of Israel. (Like all pagan god, his was territorial because it was demonized, and demons are territorial, so he believed he needed the earth from Israel to worship the God of Israel. And so he went with Elisha's blessing.)

Elisha’s refusal to accept the gifts is particularly remarkable when we remember that, at that time, there was a famine in the land, and the students in the school of the prophets were struggling just to find enough to eat (4:38-44). And there was also a need for more seminary housing, and the students had to do the construction themselves with borrowed tools (6:1-7).

It would have been easy to rationalize and justify accepting Naaman’s offer. But Elisha understood that the servant of God must be totally dependent on God, or his ministry becomes self-serving. So from Elisha, the man of God, we learn the powerful lesson that God’s work done in God’s way will have God’s supply.

Roy Robertson was the first overseas Navigator missionary, having gone to China in about 1949. He was a gentle man; he had a wise and quiet spirit about him, but he was a gifted evangelist. Our church in Colorado Springs supported Roy, who was known as "Mr. Asia;" he had lived in Asia and trained Asian evangelists so long that he had gone native. He had a large family to support, which he did, but like Elisha, money was not important to Roy. On one trip to Colorado from Texas, where he had been visiting family, he took the bus instead of flying to save money, then he went to the Nav office and told them they were sending him too much money--he didn't need that much to live on.

On one of his visits he stayed in our home. The day after he left, our four-year-old said, "When is that Christian coming back?" Roy lived his life in total dependence on God, and the anointing of God on his life was evident, even (especially?) to a four-year-old.

Gehazi, the Servant of Elisha

Gehazi was a servant of the man of God, but he lacked the Israelite slave girl's quiet confidence in God, and he lacked Elisha’s power (4:29-31). In fact, his motivations for ministry were suspect. It is evident that he viewed his mentor’s approach to ministry with a critical spirit, and that he was as those “who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Tim 6:5).

He watched Elisha refuse to get caught up in the celebrity syndrome (vs. 10), and he watched him turn down a perfectly good offer of gold, silver, and new clothes, and he decided to take things, literally, into his own hands. And so he caught up with Naaman’s caravan, told a lie, “my master sent me,” and invented a half-truth about two new needy seminary students, and asked for a gift. Naaman, who, still a man of the world, believed you have to pay for what you get, was only too glad to give to the Lord’s work, and gave him twice what he asked for.

It was a nice reward for a bit of creative effort. Gehazi was pleased with himself, but he forgot one crucial detail, that Elisha was a man of God. His deceit was uncovered. Elisha rebuked him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants?” I believe Elisha uses hyperbole to make a point. If Gehazi was willing to use such means for some silver and gold, where would it stop? Eventually materialism would consume him.

Then Elisha pronounced the sentence of God: “Therefore, 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 (vss. 26-27).”

We learn from the man Gehazi that God’s work, done in the world’s way, will bring us the world’s diseases. Haddon Robinson has said, "When money takes the place of things more important than money, then money has become our god." Gehazi had become an idolater, and he suffered from the diseases of idol worship—greed, materialism, selfishness, dishonesty, and deceit. He was willing to risk compromising Naaman's newfound faith for a little silver and gold.

Bernie was an elder in our church. He chaired the local board of Youth for Christ. He gave generously to the church and other ministries. He was a family man. He was a respected leader in the Christian community, until, that is, he was caught embezzling from his business. As comptroller, he had access to funds, and for several years he padded his expense account and pocketed large amounts of cash. He justified the theft, believing he was underpaid. Besides, he tithed everything he took!

To avoid going to jail, Bernie paid it all back, but it ruined his career, destroyed his reputation, devastated his family, and left him destitute. He learned the painful lesson that when we fail to trust God for our lives and ministries, and instead resort to the world’s methods, we end up with the world’s diseases.

From the Israelite servant girl, we learn that when we accept the providence of God, we experience the peace of God. From Elisha, the man of God, we learn that when we do God’s work in God’s way, we will have God’s supply. But from Gehazi, we learn that when we try to do God’s work in the world’s way, we will be consumed by the world’s diseases.

It’s your serve.

Written by: Jonathan Edwards