Search Your Hearts

Scripture — Acts 5:1–11 (NRSV)

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, and then carried him out and buried him.

After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.

Devotion

I have three young kids. Like many parents before me, I marvel at how different my kids are. I have an introverted and creative daughter who could spend all day in her imagination, an extroverted and motivated son who thinks everyone is his best friend, and a feral youngest son who moves through the world by crashing into everything he sees. Watching them tackle whatever life throws at them in drastically different ways is a joy and a challenge.

But something they have in common is their response to sin. Whether it’s doing something they know they shouldn’t or even being unsure of whether what they did was right or wrong, they each respond in ways that disconnect them from their family. I can see my youngest hiding behind the curtains after jumping on the couch and breaking a lamp. And I can see my daughter retreating to her room and her imagination when she’s lied about doing her homework. Of course, it’s my job as their parent to teach them new ways to respond to guilt and shame that restore and heal their sense of belonging. But left to its own devices, sin, whether done intentionally or unintentionally, creates tears in the fabric of our relationships.

While many lessons can be learned from the tragic story of Ananias and Sapphira, it is clear that their decision to withhold money secretly from their community ultimately separates them from the life found in this Spirit-filled community. Instead of transparently giving all of the proceeds to the community and participating fully in the Spirit-empowered practices of economic sharing and fellowship (see Acts 4:32–37), they deceptively withhold some for their own use.

It is interesting and significant that Luke identifies Satan as the source of Ananias and Sapphira’s actions. Peter declares that Satan has filled Ananias’s heart and that Sapphira is testing the Holy Spirit. These words draw readers’ attention to Satan’s role in Luke’s Gospel, especially the parable of the seed and soils (Luke 8:4–15). In this parable, the sower’s seeds fall on four different soils. Ananias and Sapphira actualize the first and third soils where the seed of the Gospel is stolen from the hearts of believers by the devil and choked by the anxieties, riches, and pleasures of life.

Moreover, the verb Luke uses to describe Ananias and Sapphira’s withholding of money is enosphisato, a rare verb that only in occurs in the OT during Israel’s conquest of Jericho (see Joshua 7:1). Before conquering Jericho, Joshua commands the people to keep away from all the silver, gold, bronze, and iron as these will be devoted to the Lord’s treasury (6:18–19). Yet immediately after conquering the city, the sons of Israel withhold (enosphisato) these devoted items for themselves, try to hide their actions, and are ultimately cut off from the community. Luke’s use of this rare verb invites the reader to view the actions of Ananias and Sapphira as repeating the sin of their unfaithful ancestors.

This story is a timely reminder for the season of Lent. Even on this side of Jesus’s resurrection, Satan is still at work testing people’s hearts, and God’s people are still vulnerable to repeating the sins of their predecessors. In our families, churches, teams, and organizations, undisclosed sin creates tears in the fabric of the relationships designed to hold us together.

In this season of Lent, may you do the honest work of allowing the Spirit to search your heart and reveal to you anything you might be withholding from those around you. May you cling to Jesus, the one who was tempted by Satan and proved faithful. And may you find in him the gift of restored relationships and freedom.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Ananias and Sapphira: A Case of Malicious Identity (Acts 5:1-11).