Yesterday we looked at Naaman’s lesson in humility. Today, we look at something very important for us. Look how Naaman’s last conversation with Elisha plays out:

“If you won’t take anything,” said Naaman, “let me ask you for something: Give me a load of dirt, as much as a team of donkeys can carry, because I’m never again going to worship any god other than GOD. But there’s one thing for which I need GOD’s pardon: When my master, leaning on my arm, enters the shrine of Rimmon and worships there, and I’m with him there, worshiping Rimmon, may you see to it that GOD forgive me for this.” Elisha said, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.” (2 Kings 5.17 – 19, MSG)

First, Naaman has had a true conversion experience. And if he can’t come to Israel to worship the true God, he wants to take Israel with him (in the form of a load of dirt) so he can worship God back home.

Second, he anticipates that he will have to accompany his master, the king, when the king goes to the shrine of the local god Rimmon. Will that be ok? Elisha’s reply, “Everything will be all right. Go in peace.”

Really? What happened to “No other gods before me”? Or, “You need to take a stand. You can’t go into that heathen temple.” Or, “You don’t want to violate your purity and affirm a lie!”

It appears that God is more flexible than we are.

For example, well-known pastor and radio preacher Alistair Begg, whom I have quoted before, took a lot of heat for counseling a believing grandmother to attend her grandson’s wedding to a trans-gender person. Here’s the transcript of exactly what he said:

I asked the grandmother, “Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?”

“Yes.” “Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life?”

“Yes.”

I said, “Well then, okay. As long as he knows that, then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift.”

“Oh,” she said, “what?” She was caught off guard.

I said, “Well, here’s the thing: your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said, ‘These people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.’” – Alistair Begg, quoted by Justin Peters

I’m with Alistair on this one, and I think Elisha would have been, too. But in the spirit of flexibility, I’m not dictating what must be done in such situations. I’m just suggesting we prayerfully consider what love would have us do.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace AND truth. (John 1.14, ESV, emphasis mine, we tend to be full of grace OR truth)

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. (Mark 3.1 – 4, ESV)