A great many of us begin the right thing for the wrong reason. We may join a health club for the sole purpose of becoming more attractive, when a better reason would be to get healthy. We may decide that we want a promotion at our job, but instead of working hard and climbing the ladder through dedication and work ethic, we ego stroke the boss or try to win recognition through less mainstream channels. The point is, sometimes people think the ends justify the means.
There is often a sort of 'economic transaction' mode of understanding the world that we bring with us to spiritual matters. It is an easy mistake to make, but when it happens, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Imagine for a moment an individual who may donate large sums of money so that the church can build something new, but then wants their name to be proudly displayed next to it. Or maybe they are doing it so that their good works show up in the media or is visible in front of others. Even if we aren't talking about money, some can still have the notion that if I do this, then the church should give me that.
Enter in the curious story
of Simon the Sorcerer from the book of Acts. We remember that Acts
outlines the events of the early church, starting immediately after Jesus
ascends to Heaven. Simon was well known during this time for being able
to produce strange and miraculous things, and he also boasted and bragged about
it. This happens a lot today, by the way. Psychics and diviners who
claim to talk to the dead, for example, are all over our television screens and
Internet. For a certain amount of money, psychic so-and-so might claim
that they can put you right through to your deceased uncle. What makes
matters worse, is that these folks often do their research on their victims
prior to "reading their fortune," and they grab enough of the vital
information ahead of time so that it sounds legitimate.
Acts 8:18-19 describes
Simon like this: "When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying
on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, 'Give me also this
ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy
Spirit.'"
Simon really missed the point
on this one. He brought that idea of an economic transaction into the
kingdom of heaven. He thought that the ends justified the means, and that
money was a good enough bartering tool to procure what the apostles were
calling forth from God.
We cannot buy the spirit of
God of course. In fact, the Bible says that we simply receive God's
grace, we receive His spirit, and we accept the gift of salvation. You
can see here, that God is holding all the cards. It is up to us to simply
accept and welcome what He is offering ... don't bother trying to buy it like
some common financial transaction. Now this is a difficult concept
because the rest of the world operates differently. Indeed, if we look
back throughout history, we may find situations where the church accepted large
sums of money or political clout, in exchange for increased blessing. If
it feels like the handiwork of man (and not God), then it probably is.
Most economic transactions operate that way - they have the same slant to
them.
Acts 4:12 tells us clearly regarding Jesus that, "Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to
mankind by which we must be saved." Jesus saves us, not money or
status.
We don't know if
Simon went on to actually repent and be saved, the account in Acts doesn't tell
us that. Did he repent of his sins? Maybe so. Have you and I
repented of our own sin? Only God the Father knows for certain.
Playing dress-up when it comes to religion is a dangerous thing. We can
pass ourselves off as moral, upstanding people for a while in front of
others. But at the end of the day, we either know Jesus personally, or we
don't. We view the things of God as business transactions, or something
more special and unique.
Give your tithes and money to the church, give your heart to God, and accept salvation from Jesus. But don't confuse material wealth for spiritual riches - they aren't the same thing.
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