We may not like to admit it, but there is a part of Gehazi in all of us. After accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are born again and have become a new creation, but we still hold on to the old selfish flesh of the original creation. We see four areas in Gehazi's life that show he was into religion and not relationship with his creator.
- Lack of compassion. When the Shunammite mother fell at Elisha's feet, Gehazi tried to push her away (Verse 4:27). How could he not see the deep distress on her face?
- Lack of power. When Elisha sent Gehazi ahead of him to place Elisha's staff on the boy's face, nothing happened (Verse 4:31). I believe Elisha thought this would work, yet we see no miracles done at the hand of Gehazi.
- Lack of faith. During the famine, when the man from Baal Shalisha came with the small amount of food, Gehazi didn't believe it could feed everyone. This is very similar to the lack of faith Jesus' disciples showed in the feeding of the four thousand and the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew chapters 14 - 15).
- Covetousness. It finally became obvious that Gehazi's eyes were on the things of this world and not on the kingdom of heaven. When Elisha refused the gifts from Naaman, Gehazi must have thought he was crazy. Why not take the gift and use it for good? Wasn't this just another blessing from God? Yet Elisha was wise enough to know that taking this gift would misrepresent God and His character.
Do we see these characteristics in our lives? If we are honest, I think we'd all say yes. May this humble us and make us realize our need for a daily walk with our Lord and a refilling of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
Jesus, please protect me from covetousness, build my faith, give me power by Your Spirit and, most of all, give me compassion for those around me.
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