1 “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
Acts 5: 1-4 NIV
8min read
In Acts 5, a church attending couple called Ananias and Sapphira are making an offering to the church. They seek to give, but with the intention not to disclose the whole truth. They lay their offering at the feet of Peter the apostle, with I’m sure, an expectation that they would be praised, honoured and words of gratitude would come flowing out of the mouth of those around them. But instead, Peter rebukes them for they have not lied just to human beings, but to God. And in the proceeding moments, they fall down and die.
When I first heard of this story, I was taken back that their consequence was so severe. But now I understand, it’s all about our heart. If left unchecked, the heart will drift towards what it easy, comfortable, convenient, and right in our own eyes. Even in my own personal journey, I have done things to gain praise and recognition with a heart posture that stems from selfish gain. At times I have I so deeply desired to have sympathy or words of encouragement showered over me, grasping for that moment of gain. But over time, I have learnt that God desires a pure heart. And in turn He desires obedience over our sacrifice, with a right heart posture. I believe when we can understand the deep motive of our heart, we can then in turn discern whether our actions stem from the Will of God, or our own selfish gain.
19 “Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?”
20 “But I did obey the Lord,” Saul said. “I went on the mission the Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”
1 Samuel 15: 19-22 NIV
I believe God has a deep desire to teach all of us where we are stumbling. We can then be strengthen by Him through the struggle, even when it does not feel nice. He asks us to dive deeper into the uncomfortable, to reveal what is at the depths of our heart, and how these feelings then lead our actions.
This is however, not something I often want to do. But if I desire to be close to God, I need to. He asks me to put aside my comfort and push to understand the question, Why do I feel this way? God will reveal what is at the root of our heart if our heart yearns to be close to His. A lot of the time, the emotion I am holding onto is present because I don’t want to understand the why. I just want to feel the way I feel and not move passed that feeling of entitlement. At times, it is easier to complain and feel justified in the complaining. It’s easier to be offended, then to overcome offence. It is easier to hold onto anger and bitterness, then to love others when we have reason to curse them. But there is greater strength in succumbing to God’s ways, then to do it in our own selfish ways. Because to have a heart that surrenders to God, it takes gratitude, where we seek to find good things in all things, and humility, things that are often hard for our heart to truly desire. He asks us to seek Him above all things, and the rest will be given to us. That is a promise.
31 “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Matthew 6: 33-34 NIV
So I ask myself, if my desire is not rooted in a pure heart, is it truly from God? When you read the scripture in Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira appear to be doing such a beautiful thing, but it was rooted in deception and an adulterous heart. Their motives were self gain instead of God gain. By analysing the motives of our heart, I believe it can give us the clarity we desire to understand if the action proceeding from the initial desire, is God’s Will or not. What is the intention of your heart? Does it honour God’s holiness? His purity? Does it come from a heart of thanksgiving? Where we step back and recognise what we have been freely given? Or does it come from a place of fear, anxiety, control, jealousy, pride, ego, laziness, selfish intent? Because I believe all things stem from a spirit. It is about discerning whether it is God’s Spirit, or it is against His Spirit.
When we are made new in Christ, we are all given a new heart. He takes our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh. One that is palatable, pliable and conforms to the spirit of Christ. Do you actually believe that? I believe God is the keeper of our hearts. But if our heart motives stem from a place of jealousy, envy, hurt, comparison, then how can He protect our hearts from evil when the spirit we are holding onto is contrary to His Spirit? There is a resistance from our own flesh against the Spirit of Christ. First, I believe we need to release any hurt, pain, offence or frustration to Him so He can then move through us. Release the hurt to God, let Him heal you, which will then allow His Spirit to work through you, because our heart is close to His. And then He gives us His Spirit of peace that surpasses all understanding. It’s a heart issue!
22 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”
Galatians 5: 22-26 NIV
The Breastplate of Righteousness is where God has led me to understand my own heart posture. It is a defence to guard our hearts from the evil schemes of the enemy so we can remain pure and holy, in and through Christ Jesus. Where our heart yearns and yields to His way over our own selfish way. One that is pleasing and acceptable in His eyes, and where we have a longing to have the heart of Christ. This is the root of where our actions should stem from. Where our heart is soft and moveable to the working of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us. It’s about the heart.
Nadia x
All for His Glory.