Humility is the quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance. It is one of the simplest ways to get to the top in life. Every man who wants to get to the top has a duty to be humble.
Now
Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his
master, and honourable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto
Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away
captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman's
wife.
3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the
prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.
4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the
maid that is of the land of Israel.
5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter
unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of
silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, Now when
this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman my servant
to thee, that thou mayest recover him of his leprosy.
7 And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter,
that he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that
this man doth send unto me to recover a man of his leprosy? wherefore consider,
I pray you, and see how he seeketh a quarrel against me.
8 And it was so, when Elisha the man of God had heard that the king
of Israel had rent his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, Wherefore
hast thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, and he shall know that
there is a prophet in Israel.
9 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at
the door of the house of Elisha.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in
Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be
clean.
11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought,
He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of theLord his God, and strike his hand
over the place, and recover the leper.
12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the
waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went
away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My
father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have
done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?
14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan,
according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto
the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and
came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no
God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a
blessing of thy servant. 1Kgs.5.
The story of
Naaman in the bible is a good example of a man who as a result of his humility
got his problem solved.
From this
story, we could see Naaman demonstrating humility in 6 ways.
1. Humility to servants
He was so humble to the point of listening to
the voice and counsels of his servants. It was a servant that gave his wife the
lead to the prophet in Israel. Another servant encouraged him to obey the
instruction of the prophet, and he did not ignore.
Many people
do not respect their servants. Many servants cannot even stand in the presence
of their masters to interact for five minutes other than to collect
instructions for the next assignment to be carried out.
What many do
not know is that sometimes the key to resolve certain problems in their lives
or office could be in the hands of their servants.
2. Humility to his wife
When the
wife told him about what her maid said he did not decline the advice of his
partner. Naaman was a listening partner in marriage, and that paved way for
him.
Far too many
people do not respect the opinions of their partners today. They will rather go
with the counsels of their friends than those of their wives or husbands. It is
wrong for you to keeps secret accounts and projects without the knowledge of
your partner.
It is pride
that makes you do things without the consent of your partner no matter the good
intention behind it.
3. Humility to his master
It is
difficult for many to do what Naaman did. He was a warrior and the army general
of his country. In today’s world, Naaman can be liken to the chief of defense
staff. He was a great and powerful man in Syria. Yet he did not allow all that
to prevent him from seeking healing for his ailment.
I do not
think his employers were aware of his medical challenge. It was a secret only
known to his immediate family and a few close associates. But for him to ask
for sick leave he needed to state the reason and he did not lie. That is
humility for a general of Naaman’s status.
He was
humble enough to declare his state of health to his employers not minding
whether he could be fired for doing so. How many employees can do that? How
many people holding political appointments that can do that?
In our time
we have seen a president who died on the office as a result of a terminal
sickness that has been there long before he was elected a leader. We have seen
great men of God who die as a result of sickness and diseases they nurture
secretly.
Naaman was
humble enough to reveal his case to the authority without minding consequence.
4. Humility to the word of God
It takes a
humble man to believe and obey the word of God. Many times the word of God is
in contrast to what we have come to know and accept as the norms. At some times
it will look as if the word of want to ridicule us but the opposite is always
the case.
Naaman was
wrath when told to go and wash in Jordan seven times, not even once. The word
of God is not always sweet and palatable. It is most times bitter in the mouth
but sweeter in the stomach.
Believers
nowadays will rather obey the word of their leaders than that of God. They
enjoy the doctrines of their churches or organizations than that of the bible.
There are
better rivers in Syria but none of them hold the power to cleanse leprosy. The
words and counsels of our leaders are good and encouraging but if they are not
backed with the power of God they are useless and are become idle words. The
word of God through the prophet defeats all the expectations of Naaman yet the
result was delivered.
Men today
have instituted several formula, doctrines, principles, through which they
enslave their flocks in the name of serving and receiving from God.
In his
thought, Naaman expected Elisha to do at least five things:
·
Come
out to me
·
And
stand
And
call on the name of the Lord his God
·
And
strike his hand over the place
And
recover the leper
Naaman was
used to formula as some men are used to certain doctrines. And the singular
reason
why some are not growing is the doctrines of their practices of their
organizations.
5. Humility to all men
The humility
of Naaman was not selective. It was to all men. Many are humble in church but
proud and arrogant at home and office. Some women are humble to their pastors
and bosses but not to their husbands.
God want us
to learn humility from this unbeliever. Jesus said, your righteousness must
surpass that of the Pharisees for you to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Many people
are not humble, the messages being preached to people no longer encourage them
to be humble rather it makes them more proud than ever. I have found that a
doctrine that center around do’s and don’ts never produce a humble Christian.
And when the
reward for serving God is a function of what you do and give to your
organization and leaders you will end up a proud person. What makes a man
humble is the word of God backed by the power of the Holy Spirit!
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