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 just to human beings but to God.” When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Lies and deceit in the body of Christ … it is terrible. The early church lived by a code of having everything in common. But this was not a requirement, rather it was done on the honor system. We know this because Peter told Ananias he could have just kept the money and not lied. And so we find here that Ananias and Sapphira were benefiting from the “everything-in-common” fellowship. They likely did not want to admit in front of the leaders that they were not giving to others as whole-heartedly as others had given to them. So they decided to hold some back, but still pretend to give the full amount. They lied.

Why was this so evil? First of all, they lied to God and his leaders on earth and thought they could get away with it. The more we lie, the more corrupt our hearts become. And we become like the Father of Lies, Satan! Also, because lies corrupt the heart, the unity of the church suffers as a result.

It makes me wonder how much of ourselves we are willing to freely give to God? Will I give him all my assets and income? How about my family and my home? What about my reputation and my career or my health and my freedom?

When we come prepared to give it all, we gain the spiritual rewards of a generous giver. “One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭11‬:‭24‬)

Lord, thank you for this story about lying to you and your people. It had harsh consequences. That is because you are holy. Help me to remember that all I have has been provided by you anyways. I came into the world with no earthly possessions and with no earthly possessions I will leave it.