How greed led Gehazi to sin and the moral lessons from the episode is a frequent WAEC WASSCE question for Christian Religious Studies candidates.
Remember that this question is derived from a section of the WAEC Christian Religious Studies syllabus which is titled “Greed and its Effects”.
The consequences of greed are many. This is why it is important for Christians to learn the moral lessons from how greed led Gehazi to sin.
In this WAEC Senior High School Christian Religious Studies tutorial, you will have a straightfoward answer to the question as to how greed caused Gehazi to sin in the bible.
Secondly, I’ll give you a short list of the moral lessons from Gehazi’s greed and sin. You will find in these moral lessons some effects or consequences of greed.
Naaman, the Leper
Naaman was a commander of the Syrian army under Benhadad king of Syria. All Syrians respected Naaman because of his successes in all the wars that he fought.
However, Naaman was a leper. He had consulted all the healers in Syria, but could not get a cure for his leprosy.
In Naaman’s house there was a Jewish slave girl. This Jewish slave girl advised that a man of God in Israel could heal her master.
Consequently, the king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel to have Naaman healed.
But the king of Israel saw this as a confrontation. So he rent his clothes since he was not God to heal Naaman. Moreover, he regarded it as a ploy by Syria to find an excuse to wage war against Israel.
The Prophet Elisha Intervened
When Elisha heard of the plight of the king, he asked him to send for Naaman so that he might know that there was a prophet in Israel.
Naaman obliged and came to meet Elisha. Elishsa simply asked Naaman to go and wash himself in the river Jordan. Naaman was offended. He couldn’t see why he should simply wash himself in the Jordan river while he could do so in rivers in his own land. He then decided to return to Syria.
On his way, however, Naaman’s servants persuaded him to comply with Elisha’s order. Naaman listened to his servants and there and then, he got healed.
Naaman Offered Gifts to Elisha
When Naaman realized that he had been healed, he went to Elisha and acknowledged the power of God. He then gave some gifts to the man of God but Elisha refused to accept the gifts.
Naaman then requested that two sacks of Israel’s soil should be given to him to send home so that he could worship the God of Israel on it. He was of the opinion that the God of Israel could only be worshipped on Israelite soil
Gehazi’s Greed and Sin
When Naaman was on his way home, Gehazi, Elisha’s servant followed and caught up with him. Apparently, he was not pleased with his master allowing all that gift to go.
Gehazi’s greed made him lie to Naaman that his master had sent him to collect a talent of silver and two festal garments for some visitors. Naaman then offered him the gifts.
Thus, it was pure greed that had led Gehazi to sin. God’s Law spoke against greed and covetousness and Gehazi had allowed greed to cause him to sin against God.
When Elisha confronted Gehazi about his greedy behaviour, the latter denied going anywhere. That, surely, was another sin due to Gehazi’s greed.
As a result, Elisha cursed Gehazi saying that the leprosy of Naaman would come upon him and his descendants for ever. And it came to pass.
Moral Lessons from Gehazi’s Greed and Sin
Now you know how greed led Gehazi to sin. You can now have the moral lessons from Gehazi’s greed as well as the effects of greed.
- Nothing can be hidden from God.
- Greed leads to destruction.
- Christians must be content with what they have.
- Greed and corrupt officials must be punished.
- Everyone would be accountable for his sins.
- God’s gift of healing is free.
- It is greed that leads to embezzlement of state funds.
- Greed can cause us to commit other sins such as lying.
Final thoughts
Find many other helpful tutorials for high school level learners on WAEC/NECO Christian Religious Studies and Bible Knowledge on this page.
You might also be interested in my large collection of CRS past questions.
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