ANANIAS AND SAPHIRA 11/18/07 Acts 4:32- 5:11
William Barclay rightly points out that many religions and histories would have left this kind of story out. The Bible however is stubbornly honest. While it holds up heroes like Barnabas, it also has its anti-heroes like Ananias and Saphira. Oliver Cromwell was having a picture of himself painted, and the painter (trying to please the leader) painted hi without his disfiguring warts. Cromwell was the one who said “Paint me warts and all.” This biblical story could have been left out so that we might idealize those first Christians as if they were absolutely perfect people then—and that we are corrupted the further we get from the time Jesus lived. But the problem with sin is not a problem of time, it is a problem of the soul- and of recognizing that God is aware of what we do and cares about what we do. It is not just an ancient problem- but a human problem.
The Bill Cosby show one day showed their daughter, Vanessa, with three friends in their bedroom. One of the friends was smoking, and Vanessa was telling her not to do it. Then there was a knock on their door. The older brother, Theo, was screaming at them to quit smoking, that he was in charge while their parents were away, and they would kill him for letting them smoke. He said that when he was 13 (like them) he and his friend smoked and their dad yelled so loud the walls cracked. Vanessa got her friend to stop smoking. When the father came home, Vanessa went straight to him and confessed to him that her friend had smoked in their bedroom. He told her to not do it anymore, and he gave her a hug. She said, “That’s it?” He said, “What do you mean?” Vanessa said, “Dad, when Theo said you caught them that you yelled so loud the wall cracked!” He said, “Well that was because when he knocked on their door they pretended they weren’t smoking. But all they had done was stick the cigarettes under their bed- still spewing out smoke.” He went on… “and when I confronted them, they said, “We didn’t smoke anything! But smoke was coming out of their noses, the sides of their mouths, and their ears. But you told me first thing and were honest with me.” Lies often meant to make us look good. In the end, honesty and sincerity are more important than looking good.
The story of Ananias and Saphira is a harsh story by New Testament standards. Yet Jesus let us know that God despises religion just for show. Jesus was the one who said to not pray on the street corners where everyone could see you. Jesus was the one who said when you give do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. In some ways this ties the hands of the church. Colleges and Institutions will have different levels of donor recognition. Most churches refuse to let anything slip about how much people give. Frankly, it is harder to raise money when you can’t appeal to human pride. But it is a cleaner, purer, and more sincere way to give. What you give to the church is not something you have to do to be admitted. No one is saying it costs $50 per seat or $100 to get in the door. People give what they want to give, and some do not give at all. God doesn’t need our money. He just wants our hearts. He knows that if you want someone’s heart- follow the money. Jesus was the one who said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” But where your treasure is in relation with the giving to the church is strictly between you and God. This story reminds us that cares that we give from the heart—and He cares deeply about that.
The basic story line is that the wealthy church members were selling land and bringing the money to church to put in the offering plate. Everyone was rejoicing that people were being so generous, and they were responding to God. The one thing that kills this joy is deception, hypocrisy, and pretense. This has always been true of the church. When a church gets going, people are excited and happy, and things are simple and people sacrifice freely. People gather around this sincere and happy core of believers. But pretense, lying, and deception can put a real damper on things. Ananias came in first and said that they sold the land and gave all the money to the Lord. But most land transactions, even then were public record. Ananias was struck down, not for lying to the church, but for lying to his own soul and to the Holy Spirit. God is never deceived- you can’t really lie to God. What I suspect happened is that Ananias felt guilty and stressed about lying to the church, until he had a heart attack. You cannot deceive or mock God. God’s wrath apparently is not restricted to the Old Testament. Saphira came in afterwards and said the same thing. She said that she gave the whole price of the land, when she only gave a portion. If she said she only gave a portion, it would have been alright. The problem was not in the size of the gift. The problem was in the deceptive heart of the giver. Barnabas is an example of someone who used the practice of selling property for God’s glory, while Ananias and Saphira were examples of those who attempted to use it to enhance their own reputation (Wagner). The basic question is do you want to impress others more than glorify God? Ben Stein spoke at PC- said, “90 years from now no one will remember what car you drove, or what dress you wore, or how handsome/beautiful you were when you were young.” It won’t matter.
Peter said things to Ananias from which we can learn. He said, “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold?” In other words, they were not practicing Christian communism. People didn’t have to sell land, it was a choice. This was not something the church said you had to do in order to be a member or a leader. If they had decided not to give, then they would not have been punished so severely.
That in itself is a dangerous thing to say. Some might say, well its better off just not giving at all. But even Ananias and Saphira saw the joy and excitement of the church, and how Barnabas and others were blessed by God with joy because they gave. I went to another church last Sunday before doing my Mother-in-law’s funeral—Oakland Avenue Presbyterian. They were having Youth Sunday. One young person after another talked about how they were blessed to go on a mission trip to help those ravaged by a hurricane, or to build a house for someone in Mexico. They all testified, that though they were young and had very little to give, they gave their time and labor and it clearly impacted their own lives. One after another they talked about when I helped them, it helped me. That is the way giving to the Lord is. When you give yourself away, you are really blessed into a new realm of humanity. It is a rare sign of eliminating greed and selfishness.
If you want to know the truth, one of the things that has almost ruined our economy today is those who are overly-greedy: The Pay Day Lenders and their offer of 391% credit; the credit card companies- always willing for you to go into more and more debt; the risky mortgage bankers who are willing to give you the loan even if it is too great a portion of your income. Greed and selfishness can kill a person’s soul as it can kill an economy. Ben Stein said at Presbyterian College last night that, “One percent of Americans own 43% of the wealth. He said that the top 200,000 earn more than the bottom 200 million.” This disparity, if left unchecked can lead to real tension in our great land. Two of the best checks on greed are gratitude (Thanksgiving) and giving- both elicited by faith.
There are always consequences to greed and selfishness. Ananias and Saphira couldn’t quite let go of the full amount. They were holding it back—we don’t really know why. Many people hold themselves back from God. The real problem for us is not the holding back of part of a sale, but holding back part of ourselves [Ogilvie- “Communicator’s Commentary”]. Many don’t seem to have the faith to truly invest themselves in the Lord and His work. The abundant life comes when we are not half Christians or pretend Christians, but people who have fully given themselves to the Lord. The difficulty comes
If they had just admitted that they were holding it back, it would have been okay. Peter said, “After it was sold, was it not in your own control?” It was okay to hold something back, but they needed to be honest about it. In fact Peter described their lie like this: “Why has Satan filled your hearts?” The tempter tempted, and they gave in. The Bible does say, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas. 4:7). The Bible does say that provides a way of escape in order to resist temptation (I Cor. 10:13). But the tools God gave them to resist this temptation-left in the toolbox.
One of the great lessons in giving here is that God cares about what you give, and He knows what you give. What you give is between you and God. But that is just it—it is between you and God- not you and the preacher, not you and the elders, not you and others. It is enough that what you give is between you and God- for those who believe. If it does come out, then what you say should be right and true. The sin here is a sin against God. Peter did not say that this hurt the church. Peter did not say that it hurt the community or witness. First and foremost, it was a sin against the living, all powerful, all knowing God. It is a sin of withholding and a sin of honesty. Once Antonio Stradivari, the famous violin maker said, “If my hand slacked, I should rob God.” That is a great saying for any person. We should use our talents, our time, our efforts to the best of our ability and in all sincerity for the glory of God, not to impress. I invite you this Thanksgiving to be grateful and look for opportunities to be generous.