The Heart of Worship (hint: it’s not in superstitions or money)

Read: Acts 8: 9-25

My dad’s funeral allowed me a glimpse into how superstitious so many people in Taiwan are (including Christians). A Christian friend of my mom told me that before my dad’s body is put into the crematory furnace, I must yell, “Dad, run away from the fire!” Otherwise, my dad’s spirit would suffer burns. Unfortunately, I got carried away with the emotions of the moment and forgot to call that out. Oh well. In Chinese tradition, the eldest son carries his father’s ashes. That’s fine, but as I carry the ashes, I must tell my dad when I’m crossing any threshold (i.e. doors, bridges, etc.). Otherwise, my dad’s spirit will trip over. But my dad’s funerary urn was almost as heavy as he was when he was around. So I had bigger worries (like tripping over myself) than worrying about my dad’s spirit, who I believe is by God’s side by now, tripping.

Superstitions are very problematic for Christianity because it is a very obvious sign of faithlessness. To be mortally afraid of a black cat crossing your path, for example, is a clear sign that you do not believe God has power over anything associated with that black cat. How then can you claim to truly worship an all-powerful God? In other words, you are not truly worshipping God, but something else.

Such is the problem with Simon the Sorcerer. It’s great that he believed and was baptized, but when he found out that the Holy Spirit entered the people that the apostles laid their hands on, he began coveting the power. So much so that he thought he could buy the Holy Spirit’s power! Of course, this is something the apostles would not tolerate.


This idea of buying or earning the gifts of God is not new. Many Christians fall into the trap of believing that “if I do X, then God will give me Y.” If only I did my devotions every day, then I wouldn’t have gotten a C on that exam. If only I had greater faith, my dad wouldn’t have died unexpectedly. If only I had believed in God, I would’ve made $1,000,000 on the stock market (in the middle of the financial crisis, too!). This is the heart of a heresy known as the prosperity gospel, the idea that if you had faith, God would give you all the gifts and blessings you can ever dream of! If only you believe in Jesus, according to the prosperity gospel, you could drive a BMW, have a fat bank account in JP Morgan (not Chase - that’s for “normal people”), and live in a 20-room condo and be Oprah Winfrey’s next door neighbor. Once again, to believe in the prosperity gospel means that you believe in prosperity more than God.

Obviously, none of this is kosher in any way, shape, or form. Thus, Peter issued his angry rebuke in verses 20-23. I admit, though, that it is very easy to think that the bad things in this world happen because you didn’t do something for God. When I was a senior applying to my colleges every rejection letter caused me to think, “Did I do something wrong? Maybe I skipped a day of devos that week?” The same predicament came to me when I was a college senior applying to graduate schools. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that last week... that’s why I didn’t get accepted.” But this is not right, because it means two things: (1) we worship something else more than God, and (2) we think God somehow needs something from us. Thus, quid pro quo - I obey God, God gives me Z.

No wonder Peter’s rebuke in verses 20-23 was so stern. So severe are the repercussions of this kind of error that Simon quickly repented and asked the apostles to pray that the punishments in their rebuke may not happen. So in the event we are led to this kind of “If only I do X, God will give me Y” thinking, may we repent and trust everything to God. After all, if God is for us, who can be against us?