Here’s the backstory. Naaman is a big deal in Syria, victorious in battle, close to the king. But he is a leper. He wants to be healed so he can continue being that great, winning guy, unhindered by a terminal condition. He is told by an unnamed servant girl that a prophet in Israel, Elisha, can cure him. Naaman’s boss, the king of Syria, sends Naaman on his way to King Jehoram of Israel with extravagant gifts in order to grease the wheels. (Side note: King Jehoram was NOT on good terms with God or his prophets!) All of this official grandeur ought to provide the necessary and immediate door-swinging for Naaman to be served. But Jehoram doesn’t know what to do with this foreigner and unceremoniously kicks him out of his court.
Undeterred, Naaman shows up at the door of Elisha’s house. But Elisha doesn’t even make an appearance. Instead, he sends a lowly messenger with instructions. This is the last straw. Naaman is angry at being treated so badly, both by the king of Israel and the seeming arrogance of the prophet who can’t be bothered to talk to him in person. Naaman had traveled all that way! If all he had needed to do was to bathe, then his own rivers could have done the job. Also, he is humiliated at being asked to do something so base and “unmagical” as bathing.
Yet for all his egotistical pouting, Naaman set up a rare leadership system: he established an environment in which his subordinates could come to him with boldness and redirect his thoughts without fear of retribution. He listens to good counsel and is persuaded to take the bath. After all, he would have gladly done something extraordinary like sacrificing thousands of animals in order to be healed. But this act of humility takes more effort and accomplishes far more healing than any show of force or importance.
I want the people in my life to set me straight: my family, my friends, my choir members, my colleagues. Because my solitary views are uninformed, I want to listen to good counsel. I want my pride to take a back seat so that healing humility can rise, and I can give God all the glory.