That is the price

Acts 5:1-11 (TNIV) -

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.

2 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.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.

6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”

9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

My thoughts -

Verse 11 seems unnecessary to me. Two people lie about their giving and fall down dead. Of course they were afraid! If this happened today pastors would not have much trouble gaining the attention of their congregations during stewardship campaigns!

But was the problem here the money? Ananias and Sapphira presented themselves one way in front of the church but lived another way. They wanted to gain approval and respect. They wanted attention. They sold their property and made a big show about giving ALL of the proceeds to the church. They didn't have to sell the property. They didn't have to, after doing so, give ANY of the proceeds to the church, let alone all of them. But that's what they decided to present themselves as doing. They misrepresented themselves. They lied.

We may not do this on as large a scale as Ananias and Sapphira, but the idea of presenting oneself as being one way and doing one thing to gain approval in the church while living another way is not a foreign concept to a lot of us. Our lies may be smaller, but does that make us better. Yes, the punishment Ananias and Sapphira received seems a little (OK, an awful lot) harsh, but aren't the wages of sin death? Maybe not instantly like here, but still...

There's no way to spin this story to make it more pleasant. At least there's none that I can think of. Did Ananias and Sapphira have to die? Did they have to lie to the church? It's a harsh message and my initial response to it is to be judgmental. Seriously, how depraved do you have to be to seek approval by PRETENDING to give all you have to the church? And yet, the more I think about it, I've got more in common with them than I'm comfortable with. I do, while not as premeditatedly, present myself differently in church than I do some other places. I do seek approval pretty much wherever I am and act in a certain manner to receive it.

I'm no better than Ananias and Sapphira. Different, maybe. But not better.