Acts 5:1-5 – But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.
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This is one of those passages that begs the “why” question. Why, exactly, did God choose to judge this man and strike him dead for his sin, and what exactly is that sin? Some have said that Ananias was guilty of greed. He truly was greedy, but that is not the sin that brought his death. He is also guilty of deception (at least intended), though he did not really manage to deceive anyone, especially not God. Peter points out his deception, but I still am not sure that I think the deception is at the root of his sin. I think there is a hint that it is not just lying that is in view here, because Peter asks him why he did this.
Ananias was totally free to keep or sell the property as he saw fit, and no one was going to judge him for it. He could have given as much or as little of the proceeds to the church as he wanted, and no one would have judged him for it. Ananias, however, lied about the amount he got in the sale. He wanted to look to others like he was giving 100% of the proceeds from his sale, but he really gave less. What could motivate this lie? It is the desire to look good in the eyes of others. Ananias wanted to be praised, to be thought of as a good guy, to be worshipped.
Once we see that Ananias was guilty of the sin of lying to get attention and glory from others, we can see how easy it might have been for any of us to fail in exactly the same way. If we are all honest, we all want others to praise us. We love the pats on the back and the compliments about a job well done. We want people to think we are spiritual, and we will, at times, willingly let them think that we are better than we are. However, when we do that, we are guilty of the very same sin for which God struck Ananias and his wife dead.
Let us learn never to seek the praise of men, especially not above doing the will of God. Let us learn to temper how much we allow ourselves to love the accolades that others give us. We are not made by God to be praised by men. We are made by God to direct people’s attention to his glory. When we live to receive glory, we steal the glory that ought to be God’s, and that is a grievous sin—clear from the consequences of Ananias’ failure. When we live to direct glory to God, he will reward us by giving us the greatest compliment imaginable, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Dear Lord, I confess to you that it is far too tempting to me to long for the accolades of men. Seeking the praise of others is sin, pure and simple, and it is not acceptable. I pray that you will convict me of sin the very moment I am tempted to seek glory for myself instead of directing all glory to you. Focus my heart on the one compliment that truly matters, the reward of being in your holy presence forever.
Pastor Travis Peterson 