Leadership Lessons from the Lesser Known
The woman in front of me checking into the hotel was stately and well-dressed. The front desk clerk waited patiently while the woman dug through her purse looking for something. Finally, the woman pulled out a piece of paper, thrust it at the clerk and exclaimed loudly, “this is my reservation!”
The clerk examined the paper and calmly explained she could not check in because the name on the reservation was not the name the woman had given. The woman, even louder now, explained the name on the reservation was her assistant, who had made the booking for her.
By then, a manager came to the aid of the clerk. He explained the hotel’s policy requires a guest to present valid identification to check in and the woman had apparently left hers at home.
Suddenly, the woman shrieked, “Don’t you know who I am?” I must confess I had no idea who the woman was. From the look on their faces, I gathered the front desk clerk and the manager had no idea either.
Their delay in responding prompted another shrieking, “Don’t you know who I am?”
The woman thought everyone should know who she was, and perhaps fall at her feet to serve her as soon as she announced her presence. Hotel rules and policies are for common folk, not for her!
That’s the way it is for some people who have gained power or position in life. They see themselves as better than others. Their pride makes them arrogant and disdainful.
Pride is an all too common malady among leaders. But, it should not be so for Christian leaders. The Bible tells us God detests the prideful and warns us not to be prideful. For example:
- “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” (Proverbs 16:5)
- “When pride comes, then comes disgrace.” (Proverbs 11:2a)
- “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
To reinforce the warnings about pride, scripture gives us numerous examples of men who suffered from their pride. One of the often-overlooked cases is the story of Naaman.
Naaman, the Great Leader
Naaman’s story is recounted in 2 Kings 5. Here, we learn that Naaman was a great and powerful leader. He was the commander of the army for the King of Aram. He was well known throughout the land.
However, Naaman had leprosy. Naaman’s wife had an Israelite servant girl who told Naaman a prophet in her land could heal him.
Naaman told the king about the prophet, and the king told him to visit the prophet. The king gave Naaman a treasure of 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten changes of clothes to pay for his healing. At today’s prices for silver and gold, that’s nearly $3,000,000! The king must have really liked Naaman!
Elisha’s Message to Naaman
Naaman journeyed to Israel and finally stood outside the door of Elisha, the prophet. Instead of greeting Naaman, Elisha sent a servant to tell Naaman to go wash in the Jordan River seven times, and he would be healed.
Well, Naaman was furious. He no doubt felt rejected by Elisha. He had been told what to do by a simple servant. Naaman expected a big show of his healing from Elisha, and he didn’t get it.
It wouldn’t be surprising to learn he stood outside the wall of Elisha’s house, shouting, “Don’t you know who I am!?”
Naaman Reconsiders
Naaman left Elisha in a huff. He says there are better, cleaner waters in his homeland where he could have bathed. But Naaman’s servant implored him to reconsider.
Naaman relented and went to the Jordan River. He washed seven times just as Elisha had instructed. Remarkably, when he was done, Naaman was healed of his leprosy.
Naaman Humbled Himself
The great and powerful Naaman set aside his pride and did as he was instructed to be healed.
He humbled himself further by returning to Elisha. This time Elisha greeted Naaman. The miracle of his healing caused Naaman to proclaim God as the one true God in all the world. Naaman even referred to himself as Elisha’s servant.
Like many leaders, Naaman was prideful, even haughty, when he first came to Elisha to be healed. But he could not be healed until he humbled himself.
Leadership Lessons
There is great danger in being prideful. We see it in our newsfeeds almost every day. Every day a powerful politician, business person, or celebrity is decimated by their pride. Some humble themselves and recover; some never recover.
As leaders, it is so easy to get puffed up with pride in our accomplishments. Let us heed the warning of scripture; pride leads to destruction, and God detests a prideful heart.
Join the Conversation
As always, questions and comments are welcome. Have you known anyone in your workplace whose pride caused their downfall? Has pride ever hindered you?
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Category: Personal Development | Humility
[…] #303: This Man’s Pride Almost Cost Him His Life […]