David Bahn – Reflections

Acts 8:14-25

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yetfallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

I try to look for solutions; yes, I’m a fixer. That’s mostly a good thing in my humble opinion. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes it would be better if I just listened, didn’t try to fix others or things, but just listen and empathize. Such an approach validates the other person. Such an approach allows the other person to work through and solve his own problems.

Another unhelpful approach to problems is to criticize. Even if you have told your daughter not to go out with a particular guy, when he dumps her, it’s probably not helpful to tell her she was dumb for falling for him to begin with. Even if you have warned your co-worker not to ask the boss about certain company policies, it’s not likely to be helpful to ridicule him when he gets chewed out for asking an inopportune question at a staff meeting.

Sometimes, however, things need fixing. Sometimes we have to act. When the family cat gets stuck in the tree, no amount of validating the cat or the child who is worried will do; you have to get the cat out of the tree. When the car is on the side of the road, the flat needs to be changed. When the flight is missed new travel arrangements must be made.

In the case of Simon the sorcerer’s request for Holy Spirit-giving power there was need for criticism and immediate no-holds-barred correction. Peter lambasts him for his wrong thinking and his wrong heart. It’s interesting to me, however, that in the case of the unauthorized preaching to the Samaritans, and the Jesus’-name-only baptism, the approach was not confrontation or criticism of either the new converts, nor those who preached to them. In fact, the response was simply to fix the problem. Peter and John were sent to lay hands on and pray for the Holy Spirit to be given to these new converts.

Too often – for it ought never be – we exchange unfriendly fire within the church. We too easily criticize those who disagree with us, or those who have taken a wrong tact. Too easily we resort to criticism rather than loving and patiently-gracious correction. There are times, to be sure, that we need to correct. There are times when error needs to be pointed out. But our first move ought not to be to criticize our own brother or sister in Christ. Our first move ought to be to alleviate the burdened conscience of those wrongly taught. Our first move should be to free the one entangled in sin.

As the famous preacher, Kirbyjon Caldwell, is said to have commented on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-20), saying that there is no armor for the back side, because Christians ought not be stabbing one another in the back. Our witness to the truth is never advanced by unloving criticism, no matter how it is cloaked. I sincerely hope to keep that in mind as I encounter brothers and sisters in Christ along the way.