Respecting Everyone

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-15

Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. 2 Kings 5:15

John is a humble, uneducated man. Yet God used him to start the peace process in Mozambique. His name is not mentioned in any official documents; all he did was arrange a meeting between two of his acquaintances - Kenyan Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat and a Mozambican. But that introduction set in motion the events that led to a peace treaty after a 10-year civil war.

From that experience, Ambassador Kiplagat learned the importance of respecting everyone. You never dismiss people because they are not educated, because they are white, because they are black, because they are women, because they are old or young. Every encounter is sacred, and we need to value that encounter, the ambassador said. You never know what word might be there for you.

The Bible confirms that this is true. Naaman was a great man in Syria when he got the dreaded disease of leprosy. A servant girl whom he had captured from Israel told Naaman's wife that the prophet Elisha could heal him. Because Naaman was willing to listen to this lowly servant girl, his life was spared and he came to know the one true God (2 Kings 5:15).

'God often speaks through those to whom few are willing to listen. To hear God, be sure to listen to the humble.' - Julie Ackerman Link

'God often uses lowly things His purpose to fulfill,
Because it takes a humble heart To carry out His will.' -  D. De Haan

God uses ordinary people to carry out His extraordinary plan. So, don't dismiss anyone as not important.

Source: Our Daily Bread Nov 4, 2010

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