That was my attitude before I first acknowledged my own hypocrisy. Before then, I thought of myself as a pretty good person, but I often told lies of convenience and lies that made me look better than I was. It was something I'd done for a long time, and as a result, I was calloused to both my sin and theirs. I just couldn't see it in the Scriptures at first, so the story was very confusing to me.
It was a bit of shock when I realized the point of the story:
By this time, the whole church and, in fact, everyone who heard of these things had a healthy respect for God. They knew God was not to be trifled with. (5:11)And then I noticed some of the important details I initially overlooked. The problem wasn't that Ananias and Sapphira didn't give the entire amount; it was that they said they were giving the entire amount. They both lied, trying to make themselves look better than they were. As Peter said, "the money was yours to do with as you wished. So what got into you to pull a trick like this?" (5:4)
"To us, the sin of Ananias and Sapphira doesn't seem so terribly bad. So why is it viewed with such seriousness here? Simply because it was a fundamental defiance of the ways of God in the church - they "lied" to God.
In the church it's not sin we need to fear, for God is practiced in dealing with that. It's not wickedness and scandal, for the church has survived that. It's the lie of Ananias of which we need warning: appearing to have an external righteousness that we don't possess internally, which in none other than hypocrisy." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 1689
"That level of Spirit-fullness [displayed in the early church in Acts] could not coexist with pretense. When Peter discerned pretense in Ananias, he spoke against it, and Ananias - and soon after, his equally duplicitous wife, Sapphira - fell dead. In a holy church, unholiness will be exposed and dealt with." 66 LLI'm wondering today where I'm trifling with God. Where am I falsely projecting a righteousness that isn't true? Where is my pride not allowing me to admit my faults and failures to others, causing them to think that I have my act together when I don't? Where does my unholiness need to be exposed?
Lord, I'm asking You to reveal to me the answers to these questions. I have a healthy respect for You, and I don't want to trifle with You.
2 comments:
Like Ananias & Sapphira, deceiving myself is too easy - mental gymnastics to justify what I want; blaming someone else or circumstances for my sin. Sins against God. The Holy Spirit knows the deep recesses of my heart and mind. Truly deceiving myself if I think I can hide anything from Him.
Another passage that captured my heart years ago is 5:40-42. "The apostles... were overjoyed because they had been given the honor of being dishonored on account of the Name." They counted it all joy because they were dishonored in the eyes of men - misunderstood, wrongly accused,verbally and physically abused - and they didn't let up for a minute. My self-protecting heart is exposed.
so much in todays reading. so much that just awakens me. I, too, don't want to 'trifle' with God. It's like a wake up call to respond and follow Jesus or to not. To choose a side and do it right...or at least not look back or hold back. To be confident about what side we're on.
So why in our day is it so easy to doubt? Or not be all in? "Whether it's right in God's eyes to listen to you rather than to God, you decide. As for us, there's no question- we can't keep quiet about what we've seen and heard....4.19-20 .... They couldn't come up with a charge that would stick, that would keep them in jail. The people wouldn't have stood for it- they were ALL PRAISING GOD OVER WHAT HAD HAPPENED. 4.21-22
It's like they couldn't be convinced that God was not worthy of the praise. They couldn't see past how real and worth obeying and respecting He is. Give me a healthy respect of You, God. Where I see You and won't keep quiet about what I've seen and heard. Take care of the threats and give me a fearless confidence in preaching your message. Give this to us as a church, unite us to move for You. Fill us with Your spirit and revive us. Add to our body daily.
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