Are We Captivated by People Who Defy Our Ethical Reasoning?

And there was great joy in that city.  But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of god.  And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.  But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.  Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.  Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus.)  Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whosoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.  Acts, Chapter 8, verses 8-22.

Some of the things that amaze me in this passage are related to Simon who could use sorcery to get a whole city to be in awe of him and the things he did.  If it was possible then, it makes me wonder if people in power, certain celebrities, religious leaders, etc. do the same thing now.  Are we captivated by particular people who defy all our ethical reasoning? I’m not sure on this one, but it makes me wonder about people in the media or some religions that get rich from people sending in their life savings to them.  This is just something to think about.
Additionally, when Simon saw the power given through the Holy Spirit when they were laying on hands, he wanted it too.  Rather than become committed to his belief in Jesus, doing it the hard way through changing his life, Simon picked the easy way out and thought he could have his cake and eat it too!  He thought he could live his worldly life and buy the gift of the Holy Ghost.  Well, Peter saw right through that plan!
The sad part of all of this is that I somewhat identified with Simon.  Sometimes I’m looking for the easy way out to accomplish God’s Will with the least amount of risk on my part.  I need to be more open to being the person that God wants me to be.

Because this is an example of how I’ve applied this Bible passage to my life, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the whole meaning of the passage.


This is a connection I've made from this Bible passage. Please share your connections.