Covetousness — a capital sin…

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.

 

Stay off that pedestal

 

2 Samuel 17; Psalm 72; Ezekiel 24; 2 Corinthians 10

At times in the company of a certain group of friends I find myself irritated with one person whose stories about events in her life have a ring to them that do not fit with the conversation of the others who were present. I didn’t know how to handle that situation or the right way to even evaluate it other than it sounds like boasting.

After a recent time with this group, it happened again. I prayed right after we parted, two or three times later in the day, before I went to sleep and first thing in the morning. Today, God answered my request in Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth. While no one is attacking me or resisting my authority or demeaning my ministry like Paul experienced, those who were doing these things were also bragging about themselves. He commented on their accusations:

For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (2 Corinthians 10:10–12)

This is from a man who understood that the power of God was perfected in weakness, not in boasting (see chapter 12). He also knew that God wants His people to keep their eyes on Jesus with being like Him their goal. While it is fine to imitate the example of godly leaders, it is not wise to compare themselves with one another. That only fosters jealousy and feelings of either inferiority or pride.

When comparing self to Christ, my self-view is put into perspective. In Him, I am a child of God. Without Him, I am absolutely nothing. Boasting has no place in my life and when other Christians boast about themselves, I feel like putting my hands over my ears and saying NO, NO, NO.

Paul followed his warning about comparing self to others as being unwise with this:

But we will not boast beyond limits but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another’s area of influence. “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. (2 Corinthians 10:13–18)

With that, I understand why some people can speak of God’s activity in their lives and be a blessing to those who hear and why others talk about themselves and that blessing is absent. Boasting in the Lord and boasting “beyond limits” is the contrast. As Carson’s devotional says, “Some of (Christian boasting) is so flagrant that it is repulsive to all serious-minded people. Much of it, however, is subtle and potentially subversive.”

Paul was frustrated with a group of Christians who were spending time patting each other on the back and using him as the bad guy. Carson says, “A certain style of self-promotion, of confidence in one’s knowledge and rhetoric, of belonging to the “in” group, conspires to construct a clique of egos.”

This kind of boasting makes me feel pressure to sin by putting myself above others too, which is the very thing that my Savior wants to redeem me from doing. I want to resist listening to people who boast as well as resist the temptation to ‘out-brag’ them and put them in their place. As Carson says, this put Paul in an impossible position too. If he defended himself, he would be just like them, but if he didn’t, he might lose the confidence of the entire church.

So if I keep quiet, am I in danger of losing anything? I cannot see that. What did Paul do? He distinguished his standards from the standards of the world by pointing out that the sinful flesh brags but the spirit relies on the divine power of God. He defends his actions as “for their good” and reminds them they believe because of his ministry. In other words, they didn’t become Christians by their own ability. He also says that proper boasting is “boasting in the Lord.”

APPLY: When the boasting of others becomes self-serving and an ego trip, my best response is to pray for them. I can also praise the Lord when they do it. He allowed whatever ‘success’ the boaster uses to impress others and they need reminding of where that success came from. So do I because praise for God leaves all commendations up to Him rather than feeling I need to do it myself.