Why Are We Sitting Here Until We Die?

Why Are We Sitting Here Until We Die?

—2 Kings 7:3

Four lepers were sitting at the city gate of Samaria asking one another this question. And the fact that they were sitting got me thinking about how much sitting we Christians do. When we attend church services, we sit. When we go to mission committee meetings or Bible studies, we sit. When we rush to committee meetings, we sit once we get there. When we attend seminars, we sit. In fact, it seems most Christians spend the majority of their Christian activity sitting.

There are two senses that should characterize every believer: common sense and uncommon sense. We need both to be effective in the Christian life. But some of us only exhibit uncommon sense, or faith. By that I mean that some can become so otherworldly that they no longer connect with reality. This perversion of faith keeps us less involved in the world and ultimately confuses true faith with wishful thinking. Then, there are people who only use common sense. We become so practical in our approach to life and ministry that there is little spiritual and mostly logical, worldly dynamic to what we do. We explain away most of our life experiences in human terms. But God expects us to use both our uncommon sense—“without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6)—as well as good old common sense.

In 2 Kings 7 common sense takes center stage. The city of Samaria had been besieged by the Syrian army. Ben-Hadad, one of the cruelest generals to ever march an army, had the city surrounded for months. He had cut off all supplies, and the people inside the city were starving to death and living in fear. Outside the city there was plenty, but inside there was poverty. Outside there was determination, but inside there was desperation. And against this backdrop, we find the four lepers sitting at the city gate, not really inside but not exactly outside either. They weren’t making the situation worse, but neither were they making it better. They were just sitting.

Finally, one of the four said, “This is crazy. If we sit here, we’re going to die. If we go into the city, we will die. If we go out to the Syrian camp, they’ll probably kill us. What do we have to lose?” So they set out, walking in the darkness, expecting to be ambushed at any moment. But nothing happened. They encountered nothing but total quiet. They entered the camp, and it was deserted. Why? God had caused the Syrians to hear what sounded like advancing armies, and they had fled in panic and haste. The lepers opened a tent and found dinner still on the table. Rushing in, they ate until they could eat no more. Finally, common sense kicked in again: “We aren’t doing what is right. If we wait until the sun comes up, we’ll be in danger. So let’s go back now and tell the king of Samaria and our people.” The four men returned and spread the good news, and the city of Samaria was saved.

There is a lot we can learn today from this incredible common-sense story from long ago.

COMMON SENSE SAYS IT’S TIME TO BE REALISTIC

No one knows how long these lepers had been sitting at the gate, watching the enemy lay siege on the city from the outside and listening to the cries of death from the inside. But one day common sense kicked in, and the four men faced reality. They said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?” When there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present. Finally they acknowledged and admitted to one another their dilemma.

What do people do when they realize hope is almost gone? Out of desperation, they use their common sense and do something. Are you sitting by your own gate, not really outside but not inside either? Common sense says it’s time to be realistic about your situation and your options.

COMMON SENSE SAYS IT’S TIME TO BE RISKY

These four lepers had nothing to lose, so they took a risk. Listen in on their reasoning: “If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live, and if they kill us, we shall only die” (2 Kings 7:4). Common sense was whispering in their ears, “It’s time to take a risk.” Note the four ifs in this verse. Clearly, the four men had absolutely nothing to lose, so they took a risk, and the reward was greater than they had ever dreamed. The army they’d expected to see had fled, and the city of Samaria was now safe and free!

God wants His people to be a risk-taking people. Don’t be numbered among those who spend their time justifying to themselves why others can do something and excusing why they themselves can’t. Instead, remember the young girl who risked believing the angel’s message that she was pregnant with the Messiah. Her husband-to-be also heard a message from an angel and risked becoming the brunt of every barroom joke in Nazareth to believe it and obey it. And what about those fishermen in Galilee who left their nets and risked their reputations, livelihoods, and families in order to follow Jesus of Nazareth? Even our Lord risked the cross because He believed that the Father would raise Him from death to life on the third day. Common sense can tell us it is not just time to be realistic but risky as well.

COMMON SENSE SAYS IT’S TIME TO BE RIGHT

These four starving men entered the Syrian army’s abandoned camp and feasted on the food left on the tables of the soldiers who had fled into the darkness. But once again common sense kicked in, and they said one to another, “We are not doing right. This is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until the morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household” (2 Kings 7:9).

Back within the city walls, the people of Samaria were paralyzed with fear—the fear of a nonexistent army! Still, they were paralyzed in ignorance, cowering in despair, and totally unaware that deliverance was already theirs. Common sense won the day because it is never wrong to do right. Thus the sitters who became the getters now became the goers, and they returned home with good news that meant liberation from the Syrians. And the city of Samaria was saved. Common sense is still on center stage today reminding us when it is time to be realistic, when it is time to take a risk, and above all, when it is time to do what is right.

Q & A: “Why are we sitting here until we die?” It may be that you are watching the disintegration of your own hopes and dreams. Perhaps life that once promised so much has delivered so little. And there you sit . . . You aren’t exactly outside the camp, but you aren’t really inside either. In those situations, uncommon sense—faith in God—is important. Without faith you cannot please God. But common sense is important too. Is it time to be realistic? Is it time to take a risk? It is always time to do what is right . . . and it’s never wrong to do right!