Chronicle Editor
Familiarity is a relaxed friendliness or intimacy between people. Where there is familiarity there is lack of restraint, lack of reserve, an informality and casualness towards the next person. When you become too comfortable and relaxed around someone such that you give each other nicknames we can say you have become familiar with each other. This is the kind of attitude congregants have towards their pastors.
Gehazi – The perfect example
Gehazi had served Elisha for a long period of time. He witnessed the mighty works Elisha performed; the miracles, signs and wonders. He had seen Elisha perform miracles such as the pot of stew miracle (2 Kings 4:38-41). He was there when Elisha raised the son of the Shunamite woman (2 Kings 4:8-37). As a witness to all these things we can confidently say he knew Elisha in and out. Gehazi was very close to the man of God, Elisha and seeing the level of anointing upon him, he should have been the one who upheld and respected Elisha more than any other person.
In 2 kings 5: 1-16 KJV we read of a powerful healing miracle that took place in the life of the captain of the host of the King of Syria named Naaman.
He appreciated prophet Elisha with gifts but the prophet refused (2 Kings 5:16) in this particular instance, because the Holy Spirit had prompted him not to accept the gifts.
When all this was happening, Gehazi witnessed his master declining gifts from Namaan but apparently this did not go down well with him, so he decided to go behind Elisha’s back to reclaim the gifts that Elisha had declined.
We can safely say that Gehazi became familiar with Elisha’s anointing. While serving a God’s servant so closely is a powerful thing, the devil as cunning as he is, comes in to instill familiarity in a person that can hinder the flow of blessings from God in that person’s life. Instead of that person getting blessed beyond measure, the opposite happens, and that is when many people begin to wonder, how come the man of God is thriving but the life of his servant seems to be stagnant yet he is serving close to the servant of God?
Faithfulness brings blessings, even at your workplace, do not become familiar with your authorities.
God Bless….
Online Reporter