Successful on the outside: Dead on the Inside

The story of Naaman is found in the Bible in 2 Kings ch. 5.

Naaman had it all: success, power, wealth and a good reputation.

At the end of 2 Kings 5:1 we read:

He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

BUT HE HAD LEPROSY

With the hanging physical descriptor, virtually all his other success are moot and void.

Naaman had external success, but was internally dying.

His life was being slowly destroyed by a malignant, persistent and tiny bacteria that will not stop until his life has fallen apart.

America is Naaman.
America worships external cosmetics, while her internal strength is being destroyed by a lack of moral fortitude and character.

Naaman's story shows us the reality of pain and trauma in our lives.

We might achieve a lot of external success - but, we have leprosy - we have some lingering inner pain.
Something that keeps us from joy.

The first step is accept the reality of our pain.

The primal source of all pain of all of humanity is sin.

Sin is both an action and an attitude of being fundamentally anti-God.

We are born with this malady. All of us, everyone. Even nice people.

The second problem Naaman had was that he was blind.

A servant girl tell's Naaman's wife that Naaman should go see "the prophet in Samaria".

She is talking about the prophet Elisha.

This advice filters up, and Elisha asks the king of Aram if he can go and seek healing.

The King agrees, send a letter of recommendation and silver and gold.

And Naaman and his crew head off - but they go to the wrong place.

Instead of the prophet, he goes to another king.

But, this king is smart and realizes his limitations:

Am I God?
Can I kill and bring to life?
Can I heal?

Elisha hears about the debacle and tells Naaman to come to him.

So Naaman packs up his stuff and goes to Elisha.

Elisha sends a servant and tells him to dip 7 times in a river.

Instead of happiness - Naaman is angry and offended.

First of all - Elisha doesn't even come to see him:

Why didn't HE come and see ME?

And than Elisha tells him to dip in a river - but it is not a river that Naaman thinks is good enough for him.

Furious and offended he sulks off.

But, luckily for him, he had some wise servants who coax him into giving it a try.

Naaman washes in the river and he is reborn - he is healed.

There is healing, new life and new birth for our sin, our pain, our leprosy.

It is by being washed by Jesus.

Jesus was going to wash Peter's feet.
Peter said "You will never wash me!"
Jesus said, "Unless I wash you, you will have no part of me."

We need to be washed by Jesus in order for our sin, our pain and our pride to be washed off of us.

Philip Yancey recounts another story about a leper.

Manoj was born into a high caste family in Mumbai India.
In his teen years, it was discovered that he had leprosy.

He was immediately thrown out of his home.
But, he heard that in Vellore there was a place that accepts and cares for lepers.

So, he makes the trek south, facing persecution the entire journey.
Kicked out of hotels, restaurants and trains.

But, he keeps going and arrives at Paul Brand's clinic.
He is accepted, loved and cared for.

And it is here that Yancy meets him.
Yancey asked him is he was angry or upset about how his life had turned out.
Manoj said no.

Startled, Yancey asks, "How can you say that? Look at your life. Look at all you have lost."

Manoj answered, "You're right. If I had never gotten leprosy, I would have gone to college, gotten married, started a family. Based on my family background, I most likely would have joined the upper middle class of Indian society".

He paused and then went on: "And I might never have met the living God who loves, accepts and forgives me. My leprosy drove me right into the arms of God. How could I ever be upset about that?"

Your greatest pain is that which can be used by God to drive you straight into the overwhelming love of God.

Naaman's leprosy led him to God, not his success.