2 Kings 5:20
‘But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, “Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not accepting from his hand what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”’
Gehazi got greedy. He saw the opportunity to get free stuff, but he had to lie to get it. What made that lie worse is that it corrupted the witness God intended. Naaman now thought God’s miracles could be bought. He also missed the message of grace. The fact that God gives with no strings attached.
I don’t want to be too hard on him, as we all have sinned and will do so again. When we remember the person we were, it’s embarrassing. We shouldn’t forget that. We would become that person again, if not for God.
We still have our old nature that gets tempted to sin or want our way. Evil is just a step or two away. It’s God’s grace that keeps us.
We have an enemy that wants us dead or fallen. God’s grace puts a hedge around us. More grace. This is humbling. We are so used to things going well, that we forget the potential for evil.
Unbelievers are in a frightening place. Psalm 73:18 says, “You indeed put them on slippery ground; You dropped them into ruin.” We live ignorantly and don’t realize how much His grace is helping us. But one day there will be a slip and we’ll be gone. If we are in Christ, we’ll be in glory. If not, then lost.
David asks God to do an inspection in him. Psalm 139:23,24 says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.” This is great. We should do this. There is the potential for evil. The enemy brings tempting situations our way. It doesn’t take much for us to sin.
Lord, please help us. We need You far more than we know. Thank You for all You’ve done and will do.