But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.” And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.” Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened. The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women. As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.
Acts of the Apostles 5:1-16 NLT
Let’s be clear – Ananias and Sapphira were Christians. They were willing to sell their property and give a good amount of the money to help the poor. So far, so good, right? Everything looked good, but something was off in their hearts. They had every right to keep their own field, and once they sold it, they had every right to only give part of the money. What they did wrong was tell everyone they were giving ALL of the money, but really keeping part for themselves. They wanted to look much more generous than they really were. God could see through their charade, right through their lies – and they died. This is, for sure, a harsh punishment for lying. The Lord was sending a clear message to the church: lying to God doesn’t work and has serious consequences.
Everyone struggles a little with appearances; everyone wants to look good to others (a bit). Hypocrisy is when we cross that line and intentionally live a double life, making people think we are more godly than we truly are. This story is a reminder to be humble and thankful.
Where in your life is there some hypocrisy? How can you allow Jesus to remove it?