Doing All for God: Lessons from Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1-5 says “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it.” 

When I first heard this story, I thought it was a pretty simple message about this man named Ananais and his wife Sapphira (she really shows up in the later verses of the next pericope) and how they lied about giving to the church, and suffered the consequences for doing so. But upon review and looking back over it, there is a deeper thread here that I believe can be connected: Doing things your way leads to *spiritual* death. 

Looking at this story, we see that Ananais didn’t give what he said he did, but rather kept some of the wealth for himself. This was in order to be looked at in the light that HE wanted to be seen in, while not focusing that spotlight on the one that gave him the land in the first place: God. 

This isn’t the first instance of something of this nature happening. Look to Leviticus 10:1-2, where it says “Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them. 2 And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.”. Nadab and Abihu did what they wanted to do on their own terms, just like Ananais and Sapphira did. 

Does this happen today? Do we do things by our own way or standards without considering the Father in any of it? I hope not! That is not the way that being a servant works. 

If doing things our way was the best option, then Jesus would have had no new revelation to bring to us! If doing things our way was the best option, then Jesus wouldn’t have had to have made the sacrifice that he did! We can not do things our own way, to the glory of ourselves, and expect to get anything more than loss from above. 

Keep in mind, the people that were punished were supposed to be people of God! But in doing what they did, they took away from the glory that should be given to Him. And where did that lead them? Death. 

Do all to the glory of God (Col. 3:17), and do so in full submission to His will and what He has lined out. Because any other way will just lead you down a path that none of us want to go down! God’s way is THE way, and is the only way to be looked at in His eyes as righteous.

Written by: Mason MacDonald

Bibliography: New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Eph 1:13.