“Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’—the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.” (2 Kings 7:3-4)
These four lepers were in the middle of a severe famine. Because of their “uncleanliness”, they were forced to become outcasts. There they were, lying along the wall by the city gate, waiting to die together.
They had no food and water, but they had one another and their conversations. These conversations started the spark that gave them a glimpse of hope. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die?”
Whenever we find ourselves in desperate situations, the best thing we can do is to challenge the status quo by asking everyone involved why we choose to remain where we are.
Don’t start with WHAT, WHO, WHEN, or HOW. Ask WHY and think deeply about the reasons.
Why stay here until we die?
When these four lepers asked themselves the WHY question, suddenly the course of action became clear. They were able to quickly draw up the pros and cons of their options. They realized they had nothing to lose by going into the enemy’s camp. No one in the right mind would surrender to the enemy, but there they were, doing the most counterintuitive and brow-raising thing. Yet it was the most logical thing given their dire circumstances.
What happened next would blow our minds. God was watching and waiting for these four lepers to ask the right question and to take action. As soon as they got up, the Almighty set out to work on their behalf. (2 Kings 7)
Inaction is the worst course of action. Some people might sound spiritual and say, “I am just waiting upon the Lord.” The four lepers would not have the miracle they enjoyed if they had said to each other, “Let’s just wait upon the Lord for His deliverance.” Their deliverance…would be death, and the same spiritual person would probably say at least now they are with God.
Honestly, I find this kind of faith toxic.
Someone once said, “If one person calls you a donkey, get a second opinion. If two people call you a donkey, look in the mirror. If three people call you a donkey, get a saddle.”
These four lepers recognized the ridiculousness of their situation and they took action. If there are more than three people telling you that you are in a bad situation, please don’t hold on to your saddle. You don’t have to stay a donkey.
I have always thought faithfulness is all I need to be pleasing to God. Just the other day, I read the following verses and they revealed to me that Jesus is not looking for us to be faithful only but to be faithful and wise.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.” (Matthew 24:45-46)
A faithful leper would have died an inevitable and honorable death from starvation, but the wise lepers took actions and ended up saving the whole city.