“The Grinch” has always been one of my very favorite Christmas movies.

And, of course, the best line of all:

And since my brain is wired for cross application, since I can draw principles about soteriology out of the act of washing my car, and since I “find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything”, you may not be surprised at all to hear me say that I believe The Grinch figured out one of the secrets of the Christian Faith, and it’s this:

The most important things can’t be bought, sold, or read in a book. Any book. Not even the Bible. (John 5: 39)

The most important things can only be transferred. Presence to presence.

So, “be not many teachers”, beware of many teachers, limit your input, and be very careful who is imparting to you. Because who you put yourself in front of? They are not imparting to you what they have to say. They are imparting to you who they are.

You simply cannot pick up the phone and dial 1-888-buyadegree in the Kingdom of God. Well, you can, but you should not - that’s another conversation. Without a calling coming from a clean, clear place inside you, you are at best wasting time and money, and at worst you may be already in trouble. The anointing cannot be bought, and truly - even in the New Covenant which I so cherish - the man or woman who tries to purchase the anointing of God will still receive sobering rebuke.

Simon’s only option was to back up, reverse course, and instantly change his ways. If he even could.

What we have to understand here in the text is that Simon was a believer! (Acts 8: 13)

Don’t let the term “sorcerer” trip you up. Sadly, I can be a sorcerer and also be a believer. All a “sorcerer” is, is a manipulator. A “sorcerer” is just a man who uses indirect means, or means other than what God has designated are to be his means, to gain a desired thing! I do not have to consult a crystal ball to be a sorcerer. All I have to do is make up my own means to an end. All I need to be, is a bit of a rebel.

Simon was a believer, a do-gooder, an admirer of anointed leadership, and really really wanted to become someone the early church looked up to. But he wanted to transact the anointing. He thought he could circumvent the kind of relationship with appointed leadership that might, over time, result in joining their ranks. What he wanted, was to pay for a starting block. He wanted some small guarantee that he too could be an influencer. He truly thought he could compensate Peter in exchange for some credibility.

Kind of like how we hit up influencers on Instagram, offering something in exchange for their shout out.

Thank God for Peter, a man who could not be bought.

How does this apply to you and I?

Know who labors over your life, spiritually. “Think of all the good that has come from their lives”. Simon had nothing good (yet) to come of his “ministry”. And today, there are men and women, people who, like Simon, are “poisoned by bitterness and captive to wanting their own way (“iniquity”)”. Today, there are people who leave chaos in their wake, and yet they very much want you to come sit in their livingroom . They long to impart to you.

Paul counted his credentials as “loss”, to have the presence of God and the power of the Holy Ghost. Credentials are not bad, but they are often deceiving. Credentials can be bought. Simon tried.

Look for the passion. Look for holiness. Look for the anointing.