Let's admit it: sometimes we think we know better than God. Case in point -- the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter five. 

We know the story. Jesus had just ascended to the right hand of the Father. The first believers were preaching the good news about Him in Jerusalem and many people were getting saved. The early church spent time in teaching and fellowship. "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had" (Acts 4:32). There was brotherly love in the air.

And then -- out of nowhere -- zap! God strikes dead two church members, Ananias and Sapphira, because when they sold some of their property they didn't give all the money to the church, but kept some of it back for themselves. Sure, they might have been a little selfish, but did their crime deserve the death penalty? If they got the modern-day equivalent of $200,000 for their property and gave $150,000 to the church (keeping just $50,000 for themselves) wouldn't we overlook their "sin"? We'd probably applaud them for being the most generous believers in our church. 

But what happened? Was God having a bad day? Did He forget the grace and mercy He showed through Jesus' death on the cross for our behalf? Was this just an Old Testament flashback? 

Or was there something more important at stake that also applies to us today?

Peter's indictment against Ananias sums up the real issue at stake, "You have not lied to men but to God" (Acts 5:4).

What was going on here? Somewhere in Ananias' heart, he had decided to hold on to a secret sin. Sure, God knew about that sin, but He probably didn't care -- or so Ananias thought. What would it matter if he lied about how much money he took in from the sale of that property?  He could keep on living with the reputation of being a generous Christian and no one was getting hurt. Sure, he had to get his wife in on the lie to cover his bases, but that dirty little secret was no big deal. No one in the church would ever know about it, and that's what mattered. 

In contrast with Ananias' lack of regard for what God thought, consider the apostles great concern for what pleased God. Right before the story with Ananias and Sapphira, Paul and John had been thrown in prison for healing and teaching in Jesus' name. They were commanded by all of the religious officials to stop what they had been doing. The apostles responded, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God" (Acts 4:19). Paul and John were so driven to be obedient to God that they were willing to suffer even though it cost them. And when they got out of prison they prayed that they might speak God's word with great boldness (Acts 4:29). 

And right after the death of Ananias and Sapphira, we see that the apostles got thrown in jail a second time for preaching in Jesus' name. This time, an angel released them from prison in the night (Acts 5:19). Instead of running for their lives, they went straight back to the temple courts to teach the people again (Acts 5:23)! That is boldness. The religious leaders rounded up the apostles again and forbade them to teach in Jesus' name. Once again the apostles put things in the right perspective, "We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:29).

The story of Ananias and Sapphira's disregard for what pleases God is sandwiched between two stories of the apostles' great concern for what pleases God. This is the bottom line: if we're more concerned about our spouse or small group finding out about the sinful habits we've decided to tolerate than our fear of God, we're cooking up a recipe for disaster. Secret sins prevent us from living boldly for God. If we want something other than obedience to God, that division in our heart won't enable us to stand when the pressure is on to live for Him.

"The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion" -- Proverbs 28:1