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.” Acts 5:3 (NLT)
Acts 5:1–11 tells the story of how Ananias, a member of the early church, sold a piece of property and gave the money to the church. But before he did, he and his wife Sapphira decided to keep a portion of the proceeds for themselves.
This wasn’t a problem. Peter said, The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away (v.4, NLT). The problem was that they lied and said that they were giving the full amount.
Who knows why they lied? Maybe they were embarrassed to say that they needed the money, they thought they’d get more pats on the back, or they just couldn’t bear to part with it.
Whatever the case, Ananias and Sapphira allowed their hearts to be filled with something they should not have. At first the thought of lying was a temptation, but as they kept thinking about it, their hearts must have become filled with the desire to lie.
When they acted on this desire, it cost them dearly. They both dropped dead when confronted with the lie, but please note that the Bible does not say that God killed them. Maybe their own hearts gave way when they realized they were caught, I’m not sure. What’s important to take away from this story is that they failed to guard their hearts.
Think about this story today. Your thoughts don’t have to roam free. Temptation has no hold on you. You have the power to guard your heart because you can choose your focus!