“Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.” (Acts 8:22, ESV)
In Acts 8, the apostles Peter and John ran across a man named Simon. This guy had an entrepreneur’s heart. He saw a way to make a lot of money. He witnessed Peter and John lay hands on people who then received the Holy Spirit. Healings occurred. Miracles happened. When Simon saw the changed lives and the miracles, he believed it was due to some ability of Peter and John. Simon wanted access to that miraculous power. He wanted to buy it. He could even try to sell it to make a lot of money. He approached Peter and said, “Give me this power…” (Acts 8:19). However, Simon didn’t want this power so that others may receive God’s Spirit or healing. He wanted this power to profit from it. Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money... your heart is not right before God” (Acts 8:21,22). Simon wanted to use money to obtain and control God’s awesome power. He saw the power of God's healing and wanted to profit from it. It was a sinful attitude. Simon was motivated by greed and money. He was not motivated by the love of God to share the gospel and God’s Holy Spirit. In the scripture I’ve chosen for today, Peter also told Simon to “Repent of this wickedness of yours… and pray… that the intent of your heart may be forgiven you” (Acts 8:22). Simon thought his desire to buy spiritual power and make money off it was not wrong. Everyone needs to have a living, right? However, it was sinful. His goal was to use God’s power to enrich himself. His soul was set on using money to obtain and profit from spiritual gifts.
Simon had no idea that his motivation was sinful. He thought he found a great way to become more powerful. Along the way, he could also heal people. To him, this seemed a win-win for everyone. However, “the intent of his heart” was not right before God. This made his thoughts “wicked” and “sinful”. It is very important that you constantly look at “the intent of your heart”. Sometimes, your thoughts and feelings may not be holy before God. You may think that a thought or feeling is innocent or “normal” when in fact God has deemed it sinful.
Mary belonged to her neighborhood church her entire life. She grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. Her parents brought her to the neighborhood church for the first time only weeks after she was born. She was baptized there. She attended Sunday School there. She was married there. Her church was like her second home. For years, Mary was an important part of her church’s life. She was active in various groups and organizations. She was a “matriarch of the church”. Her leadership and presence carried great authority, for she was highly respected. However, after Mary’s husband died in his fifties, Mary’s attitude and spiritual life changed. She became bitter. Her leadership at her church changed form. Mary was no longer a respected leader as much as a force to be reckoned with.
One Sunday morning, a new family visited the church. Mary greeted them, but they were reserved and didn’t say much in return. Over the next few weeks, the new family came back twice. Mary noticed the wife talking animatedly to another woman of the church. In her heart, Mary took offense. She felt slighted. Why hadn’t the woman talked so freely with her? This started a bitter rivalry in that church that ultimately caused many people to leave. To Mary, the church was better off without the new family, because the wife was “not friendly”. For months, Mary’s resentment toward the wife grew. I still remember the look on Mary’s face one Sunday. As the new family arrived for the eighth or ninth time and I celebrated their attendance at worship, I looked to Mary. Her eyes were narrowed; her face almost a sneer. I felt in my heart in that very moment God telling me that Mary’s connection with God was strained to breaking… all over a small slight that was entirely innocent.
When you have unholy motivations, thoughts, or emotions, they can damage your spiritual life. They can eat away at your peace. They poison your ability to see a person for who she really is. Those feelings can put up a wall to God’s Spirit, keeping God’s grace or healing from occurring. The “intent of your heart” carries great weight with God. It betrays your true feelings. It shows what you believe.
Simon’s motivation to use money to control God’s Spirit carried great consequences. His spiritual “wickedness” jeopardized his relationship with God. Simon didn’t even realize how bad was his sin. Sometimes, your thoughts can be just as damaging to your soul or your relationship with God. That little lie you tell yourself can become a seed of discontent before God. That resentment you carry can become a force that keeps you from an intimate relationship with God. That negative attitude you harbor deep in the back of your mind can push you away from doing what God needs done in your life.
Be very careful when “the intent of your heart” becomes filled with jealousy or envy, resentment or negativity. Be careful when your motivation for doing things becomes self-serving or self-righteous. Given enough time, even a good thought or good heart can be twisted into a wicked, torturous thing. That’s one of Satan’s best games to play in your mind.
Simon had no idea that his motivation was sinful. He thought he found a great way to become more powerful. Along the way, he could also heal people. To him, this seemed a win-win for everyone. However, “the intent of his heart” was not right before God. This made his thoughts “wicked” and “sinful”. It is very important that you constantly look at “the intent of your heart”. Sometimes, your thoughts and feelings may not be holy before God. You may think that a thought or feeling is innocent or “normal” when in fact God has deemed it sinful.
Mary belonged to her neighborhood church her entire life. She grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. Her parents brought her to the neighborhood church for the first time only weeks after she was born. She was baptized there. She attended Sunday School there. She was married there. Her church was like her second home. For years, Mary was an important part of her church’s life. She was active in various groups and organizations. She was a “matriarch of the church”. Her leadership and presence carried great authority, for she was highly respected. However, after Mary’s husband died in his fifties, Mary’s attitude and spiritual life changed. She became bitter. Her leadership at her church changed form. Mary was no longer a respected leader as much as a force to be reckoned with.
One Sunday morning, a new family visited the church. Mary greeted them, but they were reserved and didn’t say much in return. Over the next few weeks, the new family came back twice. Mary noticed the wife talking animatedly to another woman of the church. In her heart, Mary took offense. She felt slighted. Why hadn’t the woman talked so freely with her? This started a bitter rivalry in that church that ultimately caused many people to leave. To Mary, the church was better off without the new family, because the wife was “not friendly”. For months, Mary’s resentment toward the wife grew. I still remember the look on Mary’s face one Sunday. As the new family arrived for the eighth or ninth time and I celebrated their attendance at worship, I looked to Mary. Her eyes were narrowed; her face almost a sneer. I felt in my heart in that very moment God telling me that Mary’s connection with God was strained to breaking… all over a small slight that was entirely innocent.
When you have unholy motivations, thoughts, or emotions, they can damage your spiritual life. They can eat away at your peace. They poison your ability to see a person for who she really is. Those feelings can put up a wall to God’s Spirit, keeping God’s grace or healing from occurring. The “intent of your heart” carries great weight with God. It betrays your true feelings. It shows what you believe.
Simon’s motivation to use money to control God’s Spirit carried great consequences. His spiritual “wickedness” jeopardized his relationship with God. Simon didn’t even realize how bad was his sin. Sometimes, your thoughts can be just as damaging to your soul or your relationship with God. That little lie you tell yourself can become a seed of discontent before God. That resentment you carry can become a force that keeps you from an intimate relationship with God. That negative attitude you harbor deep in the back of your mind can push you away from doing what God needs done in your life.
Be very careful when “the intent of your heart” becomes filled with jealousy or envy, resentment or negativity. Be careful when your motivation for doing things becomes self-serving or self-righteous. Given enough time, even a good thought or good heart can be twisted into a wicked, torturous thing. That’s one of Satan’s best games to play in your mind.