Acts 5:1-2

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.

This is a chilling story. Ananias and Sapphira were not obliged to give all the money from their property sale to the apostles, but they made the false claim that they had done so. They lied. They conspired together to trick the apostles and the result was that, when confronted with their lies, they both, one after the other, dropped dead. Given that everything seemed to have been going so well for the infant Church, this must have been a shattering moment. No wonder Dr Luke concluded the story by saying that great fear gripped the Church and everyone else who heard what had happened.

Lying is always serious. Facing up to what we have done may be painful, but massaging the truth for our own convenience is always destructive. It undermines trust, and a relationship that is built on lies cannot possibly last long. Above all, we need to be truthful in our relationship with God. Nothing could possibly be more foolish than lying to Him, because He already knows the whole truth about us. However, amazingly, if we are willing to confess our sins, He is always willing to forgive us.

This chilling account of Ananias and Sapphira’s deaths doesn’t need to worry us if we stick to the truth. But if we don’t, then their story is a timely warning.

Question

Have you ever struggled to tell the truth?

Prayer

Lord God, I own up to the fact that I have sinned. Thank you that You are willing to set me free from my sins. Amen