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Elisha, Naaman, & Emotional Stability!

I can't teach this morning without first getting something off my chest. I need to tell someone what happened this past week, and you're it. As most of you know, Rich stated early on that this was our church. He told us that if we wanted to come into the office and walked around we could do so any day of the week. He told us that he had an open door policy and his door was always open to us.
Well this week I went in to see him as an elder because I wanted to share some thoughts with him regarding membership and assimilation of new members. I went up to Penny at the reception desk, indicated that I wanted to see Rich and briefly stated my business. She buzzed Nancy, Rich's secretary, and explained to her that I wanted to see Rich and passed on a brief description of my purpose for wanting to do so.
I then sat down and waited, about ten minutes later Nancy came out and told me to see Mike Fike. Mike Fike! I don't want to see Mike, I came into see Rich! If I had wanted to talk to Mike about membership I would have asked to see him. I mean at the very least Rich could have stepped out of his office and chatted with me for a few minutes. He could have come out and suggested that I bounce my ideas off Mike before sitting down with him. But NOOOO . . ., his secretary came out with an attitude and said, "You need to see Mike Fike!"
Well, before I said something I'd be sorry for later, I just left. I was too angry to talk to anyone, and probably shouldn't have even gotten behind the wheel. I was mad, I was steamed, and to some degree I took my rage out on other drivers. After all, I'm an elder of Bethany Community Church and if anyone ought to be able to get into see our pastor on a moments notice it ought to be me!
Now I must confess that the last four paragraphs are completely fabricated. But I wanted to give you a picture of "rage." I wanted to give you a picture of raw emotions. Such emotions are not mere feelings for "feelings" are simply the all too casual cousin of emotions. When we're talking about emotions, and this morning I'm talking about wrong-headed or wrong-hearted emotions, we're talking about an intense mental state. The American Heritage College Dictionary defines emotions as:
Emotions: 1. An intense mental state that arises subjectively rather than through conscious effort. 2. A state of mental agitation or disturbance 3. Our "gut" reaction to the days of our life.
The third definition is actually of my own making. Wrong-headed emotions are our "gut" reaction to life but, in particular, they are those gut reactions that hit us like an ulcer. Indeed, when wrong-headed emotions are left unchecked they may cause ulcers.
Now let me walk you through the devotion I gave to the elders this past Thursday evening. It was a devotion designed to let others know how to maintain emotional stability - a critical attribute for serving.

DEVOTION!
I: An inside look at life. (See the above illustration)

II: The HOW of our emotions.
"Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views which they take of them." Epictetus
"A man is hurt not so much by what happens, as by his opinion of what happens." Montaigne
In most cases it is not the event or circumstance that brings about an emotional reaction but our interpretation of it. In the above illustration, I jumped to the conclusion that I wasn't worthy of his precious time. Or, I felt that he simply dismissed me because the topic wasn't important enough to take up part of his morning. Consequently, he pawned me off on someone else.

III: The problem with STRONG emotions that are wrong-hearted.
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. II Kings 5:9 - 12
Strong emotions inhibit our ability to see things accurately. We see only that which declares us as righteous as opposed to seeing ourselves as flawed human beings. Strong emotions narrow our perception which only serves to enhance our anger. Strong emotions focus our attention on the problem and not the solution. In short, strong emotions usually short-circuit our thinking process.

IV: Dealing with our emotions in a BIBLICAL fashion.
A. The earlier we begin to think in opposition to a wrong-headed emotion, the easier it is to counter that emotion. In the wilderness, for example, Jesus was quick to answer Satan's temptations.
In 1977 when Linda and I first entered the chapel on a Sunday evening my first thought was "This place is much too nice for me!" Immediately, the Holy Spirit countered with the thought, "If you can't get used to this place, how are you going to get used to heaven?" This counterassault by God's Spirit took a wrong-headed emotion and not only neutralized it, but turned it into an encouragement to stay.
Naaman had a courageous servant who performed much the same task in his life. In vv. 13 - 14 we read:
Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, `Wash and be cleansed'?" 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. II Kings 5:13 - 14
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8
These passages, and others, challenge us to form the beneficial habit of entertaining rival hypotheses , especially in interpreting personal matters. In the above illustration, Rich may have been in the midst of counseling someone who was suicidal. And, to compound, the confusion maybe his secretary was suffering from a headache that day which would explain why she came across with an attitude.
In Naaman's life his servant challenged him to rethink Elisha's prescription. He challenged him to put in perspective. If the prophet had asked Naaman, do something more difficult he surely would have done it. So why not do the easier thing just as quickly? When explained that way, it made sense to Naaman. So he quickly made a right turn (in more ways than one) and headed toward the Jordan. Hey, if it didn't work what did he have to lose. He was a walking dead man anyway.
B. A person's attitude toward authority is a measure of their emotional stability. In law enforcement, candidates for police work are rejected if it is felt that they have authority problems because they will lord it over the very people they are supposed to serve.
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, . . . Hebrews 13:17
Wasn't Naaman's real problem the fact that he was treated like a servant? I mean he was man in authority. He was one of the VIPs in the world. So when Elisha sent a mere servant out to see him he took it as an insult. And wasn't that my problem in the office. In the midst of serving I felt as if I was treated like a mere servant. Wasn't pride my real problem? Sure!
C. Humility is knowing who you are before God, and who you are not, and then relating as as servant to His sovereignty. If we see our leadership role simply as a honor bestowed we are apt to demand praise, thinking more of ourselves than those we serve. We must be willing to give more than we get ; that's the nature of being a servant. If we get treated like servants, in the midst of our various roles within the community of believers, it is because we are servants!
Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, Matthew 20:25 - 26

V: The goal of emotional stability.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22 - 26
Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant." 16 The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. 17 "If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. 18 But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also--when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this." 19 "Go in peace," Elisha said. II Kings 5:15 - 19a.
At last Naaman, whose name means pleasant or agreeable, was at rest. He was at rest with himself, with others, with the living God, except for one minor detail. In returning to a pagan culture, he knew there would be times when it would appear that he was worshiping a false god and he asked Elisha to intercede for him in this matter. This time, Elisha looked his brother squarely in the eye and said "go in peace."

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