Wash and Be Clean

Today's reading from Kings tells the story of an army commander named Naaman who seeks a cure for his leprosy. Elisha the prophet instructs that he should bathe himself seven times in the Jordan River, and he will be healed. Inexplicably, Naaman becomes angry:

I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.

He's expecting a quicker fix, or he's expecting something more momentous than "Wash and be clean." Eventually he's convinced to do as he's told. He washes in the Jordan, seven times, and his skin becomes "like the flesh of a little child." He is healed.

Naaman's initial rejection of the prophet's instructions seems hard to fathom, but this is the kind of reaction many of us have to offers of help and wisdom. Sometimes the answers seem too easy; other times, too challenging. Sometimes we're offered a solution that's such common sense that we think: If it were that easy, I would have done it already. And sometimes, we want someone to solve our problems for us, rather than having to work out solutions for ourselves and do the actual work.

The good news is, there is wisdom out there for us. There is help. Like Naaman, we have to first seek it out. Also like Naaman, we have to accept it. And finally, we have to follow through and take the steps necessary to to heal ourselves.