Every time Elisha did a miracle he required the people to have some participation. This illustrates the importance of doing things with people and not for them. In this post we want to consider the effects of privilege on dependency, whether it be wealth, power, position, connections or some other privilege.
In the Healing of the waters of Jericho Elisha requested that the community bring salt in a new bowl. They provided the stuff and did all the running (remember: the real issue here was their land and possibly their animals were barren because of this water source).
For the Defeat of Moab he told the men to "make this valley full of ditches" which amounted to a lot of work, and they still had to fight a battle.
In order to help the widow repay her debt he gave her instructions to borrow vessels - not a few - from her neighbors, and then told her what to do with the little resource that she did have. She and her sons did all the work with the cooperation of their community.
The story of the Shunamite woman is unique in that she didn't ask for anything, rather she graciously initiated in hospitality seemingly without any expectation*. When Elisha and his servant asked her what she would like, her response was one of contentment, "I dwell among mine own people." What more could a person want, right? Through the prophet's intercession the woman and her husband had a son. Then when the son died Elisha prayed again and the son was raised from the dead.
When the sons of the prophets were hungry Elisha said, "Put on the pot". In other words, Make us some supper. Everybody involved went out to gather whatever they could find to put in the stew. But, alas, somebody had gotten a hold of something poisonous. Who was it that fetched the flour that made it edible?
A man showed up with a gift for Elisha. He said, "Share it with everybody". Twenty loaves of barley and some parched corn fed one hundred hungry men. But it wasn't about Elisha - it was a gift from the community.
In the case of Naaman's leprosy the command was quite simple - wash in the Jordan - he washed and was healed. All of his rich gifts offered to the prophet were firmly refused.
Building a house for the sons of the prophets - take thence every man a beam...
In the course of the building project a man lost an ax head that had been borrowed. That which was lost was restored when they went together, back to the place it had been lost, he showed Elisha the very spot explaining to him how it had happened. Elisha tossed a stick in the water, but it was the man who put out his hand and took the floating ax head.
In every one of these examples there was a mighty miracle that took place which could have resulted in the people becoming inappropriately dependent on the prophet to meet their physical, social, political, economic and even ecological needs. Not all dependency is bad, but that is a subject for another day.
Are there similarities between the grace to work miracles and the possession of wealth and resources?
· both are a privilege and a stewardship
o in both there is a temptation to serve oneself and despise others
o as wealth without wisdom is a dangerous thing so gifting without goodness is devastating
· both cause people to look to you for solutions
o in both there is a temptation to take credit for the grace [miracles or wealth]
o in both there is a tendency to create improper dependency
· both often use secondary means to meet the need
o redirecting to the Source
o teaching best practices
§ saving, industry, management, accountability
§ prayer, Bible reading, fellowship, accountability
Are there differences?
· there are some things money can't buy
o wealth cannot fill the ache of an empty womb or heal the hurt of bereavement (although, if the real issue was the means to care for the woman after her husband passed away perhaps money could meet that need, however, money is a miserable companion)
· wealth uses the means along with strategy; miracles use the means along with mystery
· wealth finally has its limits; after all the research some diseases are fatal, some problems persist
We conclude that when we do things with people rather than for them (1) they maintain personal dignity; (2) they see that it is not really us, but God, who can bring positive and lasting results and He is no respecter of persons; (3) they are less prone to make us a king; (4) they learn how to access the means for themselves.
*Superstitious expectations: that by some extraordinary means the mere presence of a man of God will result in blessing for me and my house
*Discerning expectations: that regular interaction with a man who spends much time with God will, through conversation and influence of life and wise counsel, result in blessing for me and my house