No other God before me
Naaman was a well-respected captain for a gentile king and also a leper. His king sent him to the king of Israel to be healed. The king of Israel was upset because he couldn’t heal Naaman, but Elisha told him to send Naaman to him and he would heal him. Elisha told Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times, but Naaman refused at first, thinking the waters in his country were better (but apparently didn’t help). When finally he obeyed and washed seven times, he was cured. Afterwards, he praised God of Israel, saying “I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.” He tried to show his gratefulness by giving something to Elisha who resolutely refused to take anything. When Naaman realized Elisha would not accept any gift, he asked to take two donkey loads of earth back to his home country to use in worshipping God. Before Naaman leaves he asks God to pardon him in advance because when he returns, he will have to, in his role as captain, kneel with his king in front of an idol. By this request, Naaman showed his respect for the God of Israel, acknowledging both God and Elisha’s authority. Elisha grants the pardon giving God’s approval by pronouncing “Go in peace.”
A Chinese brother in Christ was in a very similar situation. Though he was a believer, his parents forbid him from telling the other relatives. At Chinese New Year, the whole family, including his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would go and bow down to at the family shrine in their hometown. If he didn’t bow down, all his relatives would not understand why he was so disrespectful to his elders because he couldn’t tell them that he was a Christian and it would dishonor God. In prayer, he accused and forgave his parents for not giving him permission to tell them he was a believer. Then he told God that he didn’t know what he should do and that he didn’t want to dishonor God in any way. God told him he could bow down, effectively saying “Go in peace,” just like he told Naaman through Elisha. God is the living God, guiding us through his Holy Spirit and his Word.
Based on 2 Kings 5 (NASB)