But He Was a Leper
2 Kings 5:1
“Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper.”
The key phrase of the verse above is, “…but he was a leper.” Leprosy is a type of sin in the Scriptures. In other words, in spite of all that Naaman had accomplished, he was still a sinner. Let me put this verse into perspective to help you look at Naaman properly. He was a great man, but he was a leper. He was an honourable man, but he was a leper. The LORD had given deliverance unto Syria through Naaman, but he was a leper. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. You can’t get away from the fact that no matter how much Naaman accomplished, he was a leper.
However, the thing I love about Naaman was that he didn’t let his leprosy stop him from becoming what He could become for the LORD. If more believers would become like Naaman and not allow their sin to be the crutch to do nothing for the LORD, more great works for God would be accomplished. Let me give you several thoughts concerning this truth.
First, the leprosy didn’t become his excuse to do nothing. Naaman could have easily allowed his leprosy to be a crutch to do nothing, but he didn’t let it stop him from living life. You are a sinner, and you may have committed “great” sins, but it doesn’t have to be your crutch to sit and do nothing. Sin has already caused enough scars in your life that will never be overcome, but you don’t have to let sin be the tool Satan uses to get you to sit and do nothing for God.
Second, the leprosy didn’t become a reason for him to get mad at God. You can let your sin be the excuse to do nothing for God, or you can let your sin be the motivator to do more for God. You must accept your consequences that sin has caused in your life because if you don’t, you will become an angry and bitter person towards God.
Third, he was still honorable in spite of his leprosy. You don’t have to let sin become your story. Live an honorable life for God in spite of what you have done in the past. Never let sin be the defining moment in your life; instead, be honorable and get up and do something for God. The honorable thing is not to let sin keep you down. Get up and doing something with your life in spite of your past.
Fourth, the LORD still used him to do mighty works in spite of being a leper. My friend, God can still use you in spite of what you have done. Never forget that the greatest tools whom God has used were people who were sinners. God doesn’t use perfect people to do great works, but His mercy causes Him to use imperfect people to do great works. God gets the greatest praise when imperfect people allow Him to use them in spite of what they have done.
Fifth, the people still followed him even though he was a leper. Maybe, the greatest thing about this story is that the people didn’t let Naaman’s leprosy stop them from following him. My friend, if you let the discovery of one’s weakness stop you from following them, you will never find a place to serve. No matter where you go, you are going to find imperfect leaders. Instead of letting someone’s imperfections become your excuse to sin and do nothing, you should praise the LORD that He can use imperfect people to do great works because that means He can use you.