The story so far…
We end chapter four by reading about the remarkable generosity of the believers. It reads that they were in one heart and one mind! Nobody claimed ownership of their own possessions and it goes on to say that no one was ever in need. Then in Chapter 5 where we pick up today we read an unfortunate account of a husband and wife called Annanias and Sapphira.
Reading: Acts 5
Annanias and Sapphira sold a piece of their property, they then lied and let everybody think they had brought all the proceeds to help build the church. In reality, they kept some to themselves and kept it secret, after this they fell down and died.
You might read this and think what can I take from this?
Two people lying about some money and being struck. You wouldn’t be alone in thinking this is a little on the extreme side!
Their failure is not that they kept some money back, that would have been a reasonable thing to do. Their failure was that they made everyone think that they’d given all the money, and used deception to present themselves as more generous than they really were. It was a heart issue that God was dealing with.
Our vision month series is about going to new levels and to do this we need to be authentic and truthful in our relationships with God and the people around us. We do this by being less focused on the praise and opinions from others and more focused on the praise and opinions of God who knows our hearts and our true intentions.
Annanis and Sapphira had known this but had seemed to forget it and wanted everyone around them to think they’d reached a level which they hadn’t yet arose to.
Let’s be people who never forget that what God thinks of us is much more important than the opinions of people around us.
Contributed by Ps Hannah