Case study:
(2 Kings 5:1-4)
Our case study
begins with captivity and ends with freedom for two people.
1.
Naaman is the captain of
the host of the king of Syria. The Bible says he was a great man, an honorable
man and a mighty man in valor (verse 1). It also says that he was a leper.
Naaman lived with his family, had a host of men under him and had access to the
king of the Syrian nation. Yet he was a
leper.
2.
His wife's maid was an Israelite.
For an Israelite to come into contact with anyone known to have leprosy was
strictly forbidden. If they did there were certain ceremonial washings that
they had to perform in order to be considered clean again. Yet Naaman's maid
was a little Jewish girl and she was in constant contact with a man who had
leprosy.
The
Little Maid:
Verse 2 tells us a little bit about who
she was and what she was doing in Syria. (2 Kings 5:2) And the Syrians had gone
out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a
little maid; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
All the Bible says about her is that she
was a little girl. I don't think little here refers to her size as much as it
does to her age. What we do know is that her job was to be a companion and
servant to Naaman's wife. In this capacity her duties varied.
She must have been well treated by her
captors for she obviously loved them very much. (2 Kings 5:3) And she said unto
her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for
he would recover him of his leprosy.
She had the freedom to speak her mind with
her mistress and tell her that there was a man who could help her husband. It
was out of her love for Naaman that she wanted to see him healed. I believe she
was a humble girl but it was her faith in
her God that gave her the boldness to speak and the assurance that her master
could be healed. This little girl had a good testimony. (2 Kings 5:4) And one went in, and told his lord, saying,
Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel.
When Naaman's servants heard her advice
they took steps to get permission from the king to have Naaman seek out the
cure. They wouldn't have done that if they did not care for her. Why
take the advice of a slave, especially a little girl? Because this little girl
had a good testimony.
Naaman's maid was a soul-winner just like
Rahab; just like Andrew; just like Philip but instead of bringing her master to
The
Master she sent him in search of Him. Luke 4:27 says, "And
many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them
was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian." Naaman was a Gentile yet
this little Jewish girl cared about his soul. Because of her, Naaman
acknowledged God and declared his intention of forsaking all other gods. (2
Kings 5:17b) .for thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor
sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7,
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."
THE
IMPACT:
WAKE
UP WAKE UP!
No seriously, please do! And when I say
wake up it doesn’t mean to wake up literally early in the morning after a
goodnight’s sleep. It means to wake up from that mental slumber of yours and
have a good look at the short comings in our environment. It’s high time we
realized that this is OUR society, WE make it and WE break it!
COUNT
YOUR BLESSINGS!
We are blessed with possibly every
necessary and unnecessary thing in this world. But a community is never
composed of people of same monetary status, education and mental level. Not
everyone is lucky enough to enjoy the same luxuries. Therefore try counting
your blessings and start being thankful for everything that you have. That is
the only way to be thankful, contented and to realize what others feel without
having them by your side. Try counting them; trust me you will run out of fingers
to count upon the blessing
CHANGE
YOURSELF!
Our society is formed by every single one
of us. Without us there is no society. Changing ourselves can have a
huge impact on our ENVIRONMENT. You may have heard that a little goes a long way,
believe me it does! Start with the baby steps; maybe start smiling more often,
or using kind words or simply by thanking the people who work under you or with
you wholeheartedly. Hey! Charity always begins at home.
ACKNOWLEDGE
THE POWER WITHIN YOU!
Know yourself! What you like, what you
dislike, what are your strengths and what are your weaknesses. And then improve
your weak points and polish the strengths. Utilize your energy positively and
take your first step towards creating a positive impact on your society.
OBSERVE
AND ACT!
Observe the things and events happening
around you. Keep an eye on news. Have your own opinions and do not be afraid of
sharing them with everyone around you. Observe and then act accordingly after
all you have to ”Be more involved in the world. You can’t be a spectator forever.”
INSPIRE
OTHERS!
Change yourself and encourage others to
change as well. As I said earlier, change yourself. Inspire others to change
and watch your society progress. An impact is never created all alone. You need
people to do that and what better way to involve people than by inspiring them.
RESULT!
Follow the aforementioned steps and create
an impact upon your society. Your impact may be as small as convincing people
to smile at each other while passing through the streets or as huge as
convincing a village’s women and men to send their kids to study , result will
be common at the end which is internal satisfaction and a sense of purpose of
life.