Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” (Acts 8:14–24)Wanting what other people have is covetousness. God bestows gifts as He wills, and my part is to be content with the gift and obedient when given opportunities to use it, not to want what others have.
Simon was so taken with the spiritual abilities of the apostles that he wanted the same thing too, but he had the wrong idea in thinking he had to pay for it or do something to get it. A gift is a gift, not a purchase. In the case of spiritual gifts, they are part of what motivates Christians and draws us to various ministries:
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:3–8)These gifts are to be used in the power of the Holy Spirit. That means that no matter what this Simon character wanted or why, it had to be Spirit-motivated and Spirit-driven. And the Spirit was given by God, even though He used these apostles as part of the giving process. They needed to be Spirit-filled to do it, led by God even when to do it. To think that money had anything to do being filled with the Spirit was a grave misunderstanding that completely ignored all that Jesus and His disciples taught and were doing.
It still happens. AI gives a similar example to what Simon did: “In many local congregations, a wealthy individual attempts to use their financial leverage to dictate church policy, hiring decisions, or theological direction. This dynamic is often referred to by church consultants as "wealth-based governance" or the "major donor trap.” Simon was blind to the truth of how God works.
Prideful greed can be very destructive, along with coveting what others have but I don’t have. If envy is in my heart, or I am not thankful for what I have, or if I gossip and am unkind toward those who have what I want, and I am upset with God for not giving it to me, I’m guilty and even measuring personal worth by what I don’t have rather than what Christ has done for me.
Jesus, I am so thankful that You gave me a mother who set me a wonderful example of how to be contented. Even though I’ve had times of wanting what others have, You so always remind me that having You is enough.
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