Acts 5:1-6 (NIV)
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
This was an unusual but vital event in the life of the early Church. At this point, the vast majority of those who had become part of the Church were people who were 100% committed to Jesus and to the kingdom of God. But some who came in were people whose primary commitment was to the excitement that was going on, not to Jesus.
Ananias and his wife saw the way in which people were praised when they sold property and brought all the proceeds to the apostles for use in helping the poor. These people, like Barnabas, weren’t doing it for the praise, but the praise came, nonetheless.
But Ananias and Sapphira were different. They wanted praise from people. So, when they sold a piece of property, they decided to give part of the proceeds to the Church, pretending that it was all.
But their ruse was immediately exposed. When Ananias brought the money forward and laid it as Peter’s feet, he told Peter that it was the whole amount for which the property had been sold. The problem was not that he didn’t give it all. The money was his, and he could contribute some, all, or none as he saw fit. The problem was that he represented the part he gave as the whole sum in order to get praise from people.
But God’s Spirit spoke the truth to Peter and revealed to him the lie that Ananias was even then perpetrating. And Peter spoke out, confronting Ananias on the spot. His crime was lying to God in the presence of His people. Peter pronounced no sentence, but God executed it at that moment, and Ananias fell dead.
In the Old Testament stories, God sometimes struck people dead for disobedience to His commands, but this was the first time in a long time that people saw it happen right before their eyes. And it struck holy terror in their hearts, causing each one to look at his or her own heart and to repent of any dishonesty or mixed motives they found there, a corrective which was greatly needed at that time.
Father, I can easily see why people were fearful and intimidated by this. We like to think that You don’t notice or don’t care about our small lies and minor dishonesties. But, as Christians, we always act as Your agents, and You most definitely do care how we are and how we act, in or out of Church. Help us to clearly understand and internalize this reality, so that we will keep ourselves genuinely holy in every thought, word and deed. Amen.
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