Gehazi’s Greed
2 Kings 5:20-27 20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said,
“Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his
hands what he brought; but as
the Lord lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” 21 So Gehazi
pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him
running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” 22 And he said, “All is
well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the
sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give
them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’”
23 So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him,
and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and
handed them to two of his
servants; and they carried them
on ahead of him. 24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they
departed. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to
him, “Where did you go,
Gehazi?”
And he said, “Your servant did not go
anywhere.” 26 Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back
from his chariot to meet you? Is it
time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards,
sheep and oxen, male and female servants? 27 Therefore the
leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went
out from his presence leprous, as white
as snow.
Message
Father shared a parable this past
Thursday morning which aligns with the scripture reference from 2 Kings 5:20-27.
The parable centers on a person who is hired as an employee at a company and
becomes part of the company’s workforce. As an employee of this company, the
individual provides a service to their employer and in return receives compensation
for fulfilling what is required. One day after providing a service for a client
who has connections with the local professional team, the employee announces
that they need a favor and would like tickets for an upcoming game. While the employee believes there is no harm
in making this request, they may not realize that by soliciting goods or
services from the client is in fact wrong and against company policy. They also
may not be aware that the purpose of this policy is not only for protecting the
integrity of the company but also for their benefit as well. Companies normally put policies like this in
place to help safeguard all employees including management from falling prey to
greed. Without the proper boundaries in place, employees could easily be
enticed away by any freebie presented and lose focus thereby affecting the
integrity of the company’s vision.
It’s important to note that while
some client/customer freebies may be viewed as free, someone somewhere already
paid the price for it to be produced. Gehazi, who served the prophet
Elisha, allowed the sight of a few “freebies” to draw his focus away from his ministry
assignment. Apparently he felt in some way that he was somehow entitled to
these items because Elisha had of course healed Naaman. What he failed to realize
is that the boundaries that were in place were not there to hinder him from accepting
and enjoying the “freebies” but to protect the integrity of his and Elisha’s
ministry assignment. Unfortunately for
him, his short lived greed came with a very high price tag.
Prophetic Utterance
Some major leaders will be
stepping down because of what has happened within their ministries as it
relates to greed. Father is now exposing on a grand scale. New leaders with a
heart for Him will rise up to take their place. Things are being aligned and
redirected so the church can truly begin to step out of its comfort zone to
become a driving force in the earth before the return of the Lord. Father
desires that His people be Kingdom generated and not greed motivated. Scribed @
7:45 AM (CST) 2/27/2014
Encouragement
Grace is available. Mercy is obtainable and God is able to
heal and restore you.
Deliverance Prayer
Heavenly Father thank you for who
you are. You are Sovereign and worthy of all the honor and glory. We surrender
our hearts, mind and emotions to you on today. We ask that you forgive us for
any trespass against you and others. Forgive us for harboring greed in any area
of our lives. Father, forgive us for not
protecting the integrity of your church and our ministry assignments. We ask
that you wash, cleanse, and purge us of any contamination from the world. Purify
and align our hearts with your divine will that we can become the effective
witnesses and agents of change you desire us to be. Thank you Heavenly Father for your amazing grace
and another opportunity to serve you both in spirit and in truth. Amen
