Self-Importance

Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 2 Kings 5:11

                                                       Man Washing                                      M. Zimmerman

Naaman, an important General in the Syrian Army, was given permission by his king to go to Israel to seek a cure for his leprosy.  But when he arrived, Naaman was offended that the prophet Elisha would not come out of his house and wave his hands over him and maybe cite some magical incantation. Instead, Elisha simply sent a servant out to tell Naaman what he needed to do to be cured. Naaman stalked away, furious at Elisha’s social snub.

We learn something about pride in his passage. And about expectations. Naaman was an important man, but only in his own country. Here, he is only a pilgrim. And yet, Naaman needs something; he was the one with the leprosy. Surely he wanted it cured (that was why he had traveled all that way), but when the “cure” didn't match his expectations, he went off in a huff.

How do our expectations and pride get in the way of solutions that are offered to us? When we want to lose weight, we don’t want to hear “eat less and start exercising;” we want a “diet pill.”  And when we are in debt over our heads, we reject the invitation to cut up our credit cards and seek to involve the courts as we seek bankruptcy protection instead.

Sometimes, our prayers are answered with similar simplicity. Let us not complain about the results of our prayers. Instead, let us praise God for having heard us at all.