Some stories in the Bible are hard to digest. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is one of those stories. They allowed greed to get the best of them. Faulty intentions led to deceit, and it did not end well.
The Church in Acts was growing. The believers were united in heart and mind, sharing their possessions so no one would be in need. Caught up in the Spirit-led generosity, Ananias and Sapphira decided to sell a plot of land. But when the deal was done and they held the proceeds in their hands, the allure of wealth was too strong. Suddenly they didn’t want to give it all to the Church. They wanted to keep some of it for themselves. So together they conceived a lie to appear generous but still have money in their pockets for their own use.
Ananias went ahead of Sapphira to see the disciples and bring their offering. He was talking big about how they had sold this land so they could give to the Church. He probably had a smile on his face as he laid the offering before them, expecting a “thank you” and a pat on the back. Instead, Peter discerned his dishonesty and called him on it: “Why is it you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”
Instantly, Ananias fell down and died.
A few hours later his wife, Sapphira, showed up, expecting to find her husband and the rest of the disciples celebrating their offering. Instead, Peter asked her if the amount they gave was the price they received. He was giving her a chance to come clean, but she didn’t. She stuck to the lie and suffered the same fate as her husband.
What just happened?
This story is tough to read. Did Ananias and Sapphira die because they didn’t give enough? No. They didn’t. Peter told Ananias the property and the proceeds were theirs to do with as they wished. They could’ve kept it all. Or they could’ve given what they did without lying about it. But they were greedy. They were trying to serve both God and money. And worse, they lied to God about their intentions (as if He didn’t already know).
God takes sin seriously and motives matter. If Ananias and Sapphira’s behavior had been left unchecked, it would’ve taken root in the young and growing Church, and God would not allow that to happen.
Jesus had condemned similar faulty intentions and messed up motives in the Pharisees: “Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
God knows our hearts, and He wants them to be pure and right before Him. A life of outward holiness stemming from faulty intentions does not please God.
Heavenly Father, please purge my heart of any insincere motives or faulty intentions. Reveal them to me when they creep in so I can immediately repent and not give the enemy a foothold. In Jesus’ name, amen.
All the ways of a man are clean and innocent in his own eyes [and he may see nothing wrong with his actions], But the Lord weighs and examines the motives and intents [of the heart and knows the truth]. – Proverbs 16:2 AMP
