Simon noticed that the Spirit was given only when the apostles placed their hands on the people. So he brought money and said to Peter and John, “Let me have this power too! Then anyone I place my hands on will also be given the Holy Spirit.”
Peter said to him, “You and your money will both end up in hell if you think you can buy God’s gift! You don’t have any part in this, and God sees that your heart isn’t right. Get rid of these evil thoughts and ask God to forgive you.- Acts 8:18-22
What makes us think that God has changed His opinion of attempts to profit under the veil of ministry?
I think that our motives of our heart will be examined in how we give including how much truth and sincerity we speak on behalf of the support required in our ministries.
Gideon was a man who definitely put out there his desire not to rule.
Why did he have to ask everyone to give a gold earring from the share of the plunder? So what? That seems like a small price for people to pay, they definitely would not miss it and Gideon certainly earned it. But what he did with the gold is melt it down and made a gold ephod which he placed in his hometown.“No,” Gideon replied, “I won’t be your king, and my son won’t be king either. Only the Lord is your ruler. - Judges 8:23
Gideon returned to his home in Ophrah and had the gold made into a statue, which the Israelites soon started worshipping. They became unfaithful to God, and even Gideon and his family were trapped into worshipping the statue. - Judges 8:27-28If we would be ashamed or embarrassed by full disclosure of our finances - everything from our salaries and all other sources of income to our proportion of giving - it's an indication we should be living differently.
