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."
One of the things that I'm glad God did in the Scriptures is
that when He tells us about great people and the great acts they accomplished, He also tells us of their weaknesses. God doesn't tell us their weaknesses so that we can pick them apart, but He tells us their weaknesses so that we can be encouraged that He can use us in spite of our weakness. God simply shows us in the Scriptures that greatness is always tainted by weakness.
In the verse above, Naaman was called a great man. He was great because he was honorable. He was great because he led many campaigns to defeat the enemies of Syria. He was great because of his valour that he showed in times of attack. Yet, with all the attributes of greatness that Naaman displayed, he still had the disease of leprosy. The most feared disease of his day gripped his body and caused Naaman to be crippled.
What I love about this story is that the king of Syria still used Naaman in spite of his disease. The king of Syria didn't let the disease hinder him from using the greatness of Naaman. The king of Syria could have lost many battles if he had not overlooked the weaknesses of this leper.
There are many good principles we can learn from this story of Naaman. First, let me emphasize that every great person is still tainted by sin. If we are not careful, we will raise great people to the status of a god. We can get so wrapped up in the greatness of an individual that we worship them instead of God. Certainly, we should have great admiration for great people, but don't let your admiration turn to worship.
Second, don't focus on the weakness of greatness. Too many times we see the weakness of people and allow their weakness to keep us from seeing the great things that we can learn from them. Just as it is wrong to worship great people, it is also wrong to only focus on the weakness of great people. In fact, you will notice that more emphasis is on the great qualities of Naaman than on his weakness. Don't be so eager to point out the weaknesses that taint greatness. Only point out the weaknesses so that others can see they can be used. If you destroy a great person because of a weakness, then you will cause others not to learn the great attributes that others can apply to their lives.
Finally, don't let your weaknesses become so tainted in your eyes that you allow them to keep you from doing the great works for God. Friend, there is nobody who is perfect. There is no doubt that nobody knows our weaknesses better than ourselves. If we are not careful, we will beat ourselves up with our weaknesses to the point that we won't let God use us. God can use you in spite of your weakness. You must always understand that it is not the person who was great, but it was God who used them in a great way in spite of their weakness. Don't let your weakness defeat you from serving God.
Yes, everyone is tainted by sin; however, inside of every person is something great that God can use. If all you do is point out the weakness, then that greatness will never be extracted. If all you do is ignore the weakness, then the quality of greatness inside of that person will never reach its potential. Be prudent in your perspective of people and of yourself. Look at people through the eyes of God, and you will find that everyone has a weakness, but God can use them in spite of it.