The story of Ananias and Sapphira recorded in Acts 5:1-11 give us an example of a married couple who were more concerned with their reputation than their character.
Ananias and Sapphira sold their property and pretended to give the entire profit to the church, when in fact they kept part of the profit for themselves. When confronted, they lied.
I love reading about the church in Acts because it gives us the foundation of what the church today should be doing when serving God. But reading this story, stopped me in my tracks.
Let’s be honest here, most of us end up lying most days so why did this couple have to die for it? After all, it was their choice whether or not to sell the land and how much to give.
The answer is found at end of chapter 4, where it tells us:
“all the believers were one in heart and mind.” (v32)
Their deceit was judged more harshly because they not only lied directly to the church but to God.
They wanted to appear more generous than they actually were.
Dishonesty and greed within the church is destructive because it stops the spirit from moving effectively and ultimately we destroy our testimony about Christ’s goodness in our lives.
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