“The Best That Money Can NOT Buy”

Scripture text: Acts 8:14-25

Remember Simon the Sorcerer from last week? He had been so taken by Philip’s preaching and the sign’s and miracles that he saw coming through the evangelist that he accepted Christ and was baptized. The man had been held in very high esteem by the people of Samaria, as he was able to perform magic and sorcery and all kinds of amazing things. But now, he is beginning to realize that his powers were nothing when compared to that which was so apparent in Philip.

But even though he now believes in Christ, and had been baptized into the church, the old ways were still influencing, and maybe even controlling, his life. Money and power and prestige were still of foremost importance to Simon.

Former US Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (D-Maine) gave a speech in the fall of 1994 in which he denounced the current campaign finance system and the way it undermines public confidence in elected officials. (Sound familiar??)
In his speech, he said “The fact of the matter is ... [that] every senator knows this system stinks. Every senator who participates in it knows this system stinks. And the American people are right when they mistrust this system, where what matters most in seeking public office is not integrity, not ability, not judgment, not reason, not responsibility, not experience, not intelligence, but money. Money dominates this system. Money infuses this system. Money is the system.”
--As excerpted in Washington Spectator 20 (1 November 1994), 2.

Read Acts 8:14-17

For Simon, the old, former self was still his “system” – he hadn’t taken that full step in faith yet. And when Peter and John arrived to expand the ministry that Philip had begun, poor Simon was even more amazed at what he saw. He witnessed the power of the Holy Spirit, and the old self suddenly kicked in. The power and prestige, and probably a lot of the money, had dried up, and he missed the attention that others had so readily been giving to him. He had been able to buy whatever he wanted in life, people had always come to him in recognition of his great powers, he had been honored by the great and not so great for many years, and now his ego was beginning to strain against the boundaries, the goads if you will, that his new found faith had brought.

The beaten path that had once lead the masses to his door was beginning to grow back in, the good life that he had so enjoyed was becoming a little more Spartan, the prestige in his life was drying up, and his former job as a sorcerer was no longer available to him. He needed to get back on top, and the invoking of the Holy Spirit that he saw with these two new evangelists seemed to be just the thing that he needed.

Read Acts 8:18-19

Have you ever know people in the church who thought that their money or position or name could get them whatever they wanted? Whether it was chair of one of the “better” or more influential committees, or having the ear of the pastor whenever they wanted it, or the ability to control the happenings in worship or fellowship or fund raising, or even what projects and expenditures could be approved. No matter what the issue, they had the control and influence to shape it, and they loved being in the driver’s seat – or at least they loved it until someone else came along and was able to wrest control from them and changed the way that everything was done. They feel lost and insignificant, no one listens to them anymore, no one seeks their opinion or advice, or permission, no one honors them the way they were used to being honored. They just had to regain that old sense of control, one way or another. And the church suffered in the process.

That was where Simon found himself on that day when he saw Peter and John so easily and effectively bestowing the Spirit on the people. That was who he used to be, and he wanted to be that man again. Maybe he could buy that power away from the disciples, and regain his former position in the community.

Read Acts 8:20-23

What Simon had failed to grasp was that the gifts of faith were just that – gifts that were freely given to those who honored God, and who never claimed the power and prestige for themselves. Now, we might think that Peter’s reprimand to Simon was a bit harsh, but was it? This man was like so many others who think that they can keep a foot in both worlds – 1 in the old, earthly life, and 1 in the new, Christ-centered life. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus warns us about this very thing – “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Simon was trying to serve two masters, and Peter was intentionally and very deliberately teaching him that he couldn’t.

Some time ago, an Amish woman from Minnesota, Mary Lambright, was killed when a truck hit her horse-drawn buggy. The modern society she and her people shunned had taken her life. Her husband, Mahlon, now a widower, was a 43-year-old carpenter with 11 children to raise.
Yet, when he was offered $212,000 from the truck driver’s insurance company as a wrongful-death settlement, he turned it down, saying that he was concerned that the money would threaten his family's way of life, would cause more problems than it was worth, and that other members of the Amish community would feel bad if he took the money.
-- Jonathan Kramer and Diane Dunaway Kramer, Losing the Weight of the World: A Spiritual Diet to Nourish the Soul (New York: Doubleday, 1997), 139-40.

That certainly wasn’t Simon speaking, was it? And it isn’t at all a common thread for most people’s lives!

Read Acts 8:24-25

And as the 2 disciples begin their journey back to Jerusalem, there is no indication as to what condition Simon is left in. The truth is that we just might be Simon, and that his story is actually ours.
- Did Simon, and do we, truly understand that the old attitudes and ways must be laid down and left far behind? Our new walk with Christ can never be fueled by the “oldness” of our life.
- Was Simon, and are we, ready to be a Micah kind of man or woman – completely in and of and for Christ – Micah 6:8 – “He has shown you ... what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” New ways for the new Way. Was Simon, and are we, ready to let go of the honors and prestige and power and authority and influence and wealth that the world promises? Are we prepared to simply walk in personal humility with the Christ?
Had Simon, and will we, come to the realization that the idols of the world and the majesty of God can never be served together?

We don’t know what happened to Simon, but we can take his lesson to heart – that the strengths and powers that come from the world can never be used to gain the benefits of the Lord! And the grace that comes to us from the love of our Lord Jesus Christ is a gift given freely. Money can’t buy it. Prestige can’t influence it. Power can’t claim it. Worldliness can’t control it.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6) Filled - not because we deserve it, not because we have earned it, not because we have purchased it – but simply because we have emptied ourselves in preparation to receive it. Freely offered. Gratefully received. Amen.