Out of the 10 Commandments, I've used to consider the 3rd one to be very easy--simply restrict myself from swearing or misusing God/Jesus names would do the trick. Little did I know that there's a much deeper implication than these superficial acts of obedience. Thank God that He reveals to me from one of the sermons recently.
2 Kings 5 is about Naaman healed of leprosy (a terminal skin disease back in the old days). I've studied this passage several times and getting familiar with Elisha, the servant girl, even the king...but I really wasn't paying attention to Naaman until I listened to the sermon at Sunset Church. The pastor pointed out that in verse 11 it's a classic example of breaking the 3rd Commandment - Do not misuse God's name:
9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
11 But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage. One would probably think that Naaman was being unreasonable. But if we dig deep into verse 11, what Naaman was expecting would seem humanly "reasonable", as Naaman's expectation was actually resembling how Jesus and other prophets cured diseases in the past. What actually went wrong?
The root problem is what I would call "spirtual fantasy", a state where a person paints a "spiritual" picture of how things should work according to this person's own or other's "spiritual" experience. For Naaman, his "spirtual fantasy" of healing of leprosy is "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.". When God's answer via Elisha (verse 10) contradicts Naaman's "spiritual fantasy", Naaman got angry and refused to obey.
Did Naaman got cured by his "spiritual fantasy" way? No. Naaman got cured when he finally obeyed God's command:
"14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy."
Our pastor pointed out that we Christians, like Naaman, are often forming and dwelling into our own "spiritual fantasies", and equally frustrated at God when God's answers are in contrast with our predetermined expectations. As a result, we are missing out a lot of God's blessings due to our disobedience and pride.
I've given "spiritual fantasy" some thoughts and come up with some ways to identify them in our lives:
-Is this "spirtual fantasy" inline with the God I know from the Bible?
-Are there things/actions in this "spirtual fantasy" directly contradict the Scripture?
Consider the following scenarios:
-A young Christian college student claims that "God could only prove His care for me if He helps me an A out of this class", despite this student missed half of the classes as well as assignments and failed the midterm and final exam.
-A desperate homeowner who's facing foreclosure claims that "God could only prove His care for me if He helps me to pay my mortgage payment and avoid foreclosure", despite the fact that this homeowner was dishonest about his income when he applied for the mortgage for this house.
-A church leader chooses to remain silent while other church leaders are committing premarital sex, adulteries, bearing false witnesses (lying) and attacking each other in church ministries, all in the name of "keeping the unity of the church because the unity of the church pleases God".
Which of the above are actually biblical? Which ones of the above are "spiritual fantasies"?
By now we should realize we are breaking the 3rd commandment much more times than we could have imagined. Could you identify any "spiritual fantasy" in your life or lives of others? Let's all repent and go back to the Bible and obey His words. Remember what Jesus says in John 15:
10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.
14You are my friends if you do what I command.
A humble sharing from a brother in Christ
