2 Kings 5:1-16

1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”5 Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy. 7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ 12 Are not the Abanah[a] and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” 16 But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

Maybe you have seen the Geico commercial where the silly lizard says, "What if I told you I would give you $100 just for standing up?" Would you reply, "I'm so rich I think I'll just keep my seat, thank you." The funny thing is, many of us do that with God all the time. There is something within us that wants to "make our own way", to not be indebted to anybody, as absurd as it is, even to God. We go to God so often for help only when there is nowhere else to turn, and he helps us. I wonder how many desperate situations could be avoided if we could make it a habit of turning to God early and often. I am somethimes content to settle for less than what I could have, just because I don't want to approach God in the small things, in the things I think I can handle, or in the things that I think wouldn't be the end of the world if they were less than perfect. I think it is because I then feel indebted to Him, and I hate that feeling, even though I know I should feel it constantly anyway.

In the passage above, Naaman seems intent upon getting his health back his way, and it infuriated him to learn that if it was to happen, it would be a one way deal-- a gift that he could not attribute to his status, that he could not repay, or otherwise feel like he earned. Because of his sinful pride, he almost gave up the greatest blessing of his life. Fortunately, he was counseled back to his senses, but even after the event, we find that he continues trying to erase the debt, to unload the burden he feels to God by paying something back to the prophet.

But carrying a weight of debt to God is a good thing. It is healthy and is an appropriate part of our relationship with Him, if we are to maintain the attitude of thankfulness which is essential to experiencing joy in this Christian walk. So anytime we can ask Him for something that will make us aware of how much we owe Him, we will be blessed, not only because he grants our request but also because it humbles us and we can thank Him for it.