Drop Dead!

Sometimes the Bible has some challenging stories . . .

There are stories in the Bible people find particularly difficult to understand. Things that don’t seem to make sense and consequences that seem unfair. One of these stories is an incident that happened in the early Christian church. It’s found in Acts 5:1-10.

In the story, a couple named Annanias and Sapphira sell a piece of property. Annanias then brings some of the money from the sale and gives it to the apostles. Peter accuses Annanias of having a heart full of Satan, and denounces him for having not given all of the money.
Annanias then drops dead.

At this point, I’m sure many people stop reading and ask “What is going on?!” Some light is shed on the story when Sapphira arrives, and is asked by Peter whether the money her husband donated was the full price they got for the property. When she says it was, she also falls down dead. It appears this couple died because they were not generous enough—that they didn’t quite put enough in the offering plate.

But is that what is really going on here? Sometimes when we find confusing parts in the Bible, it can be helpful to read the surrounding chapters and verses. This can let us see the bigger picture. If you read a few verses before this story begins, in Acts 4:34-37, you find another person named Joseph (later known as Barnabas), who sells a piece of property and gives the whole price to the apostles. There is great celebration over this, and he becomes known for his generosity.

Remember that at this point, the community of believers in Jesus were all looking after each other. This money would have been used to keep the community functioning, feed those who needed food and spread the good news of Jesus.

So right after this story of complete generosity, another gift is publically made. It’s described by the givers as being the “whole price,” the same thing Barnabas has just been praised for. But that’s not what it is. It is not the full price—it’s a lie.
The problem is not that Annanias and Sapphira didn’t give enough; the problem is they tried to make it look like they were giving more than they actually were and lied about it. The Christian life is not about faking it, it’s not about putting up a facade and it’s certainly not about pretending to be better than you are.

Jesus talks about this in Matthew 6:1-4. We may not find ourselves tempted to present a large sum of money in front of the church, claiming it’s two months’ wages when it’s only one but there are times when all of us are tempted to act like we are someone we are not. The Bible tells us God accepts us as we are (see Romans 5:8), and He is real with us—so we should be real with Him.