Choosing wisely — and Godly

Sunday we looked at Gehazi, whose thinking was askew when it came to Elisha dealing with Naaman and his leprosy.  We might say he had a virus of the mind; thoughts that ran counter to the proper and godly way of thinking that caused damage (leprosy) to him and those around him.  We see this same refrain over and over in Scripture.  Let me give you a few examples:

Romans 1:18-23: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.”

Or what about this parable from Luke 12:13-21: “Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Or what about the ending to the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus encourages and warns the hearers by saying, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”  When we choose to not live as God designed for us to live, we choose to live however we want.  And how and what we want always ends in destruction and judgment.  

But what is the design of God I speak of?  It is summed up in how Jesus answered the question of the two greatest commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Gehazi thought that Elisha had spared Naaman and healed him.  But it was the power of God working through Elisha that accomplished this.  The reason wasn’t so that Naaman would like Elisha, but that he will glorify God and worship Him.  Gehazi had a mind virus that caused him to view the things he could hold in his hands as more important than the God he could worship with his heart and life.  Beware of mind viruses that will shift your focus from the worship of who God is to the things God has created.

Pressing on…

Ron Tipton, Senior Pastor