by Pastor Afolabi Oladele

Listening recently to a servant of God’s ministration on the jurisdiction of Satan, I noted particularly that for the believer, it is the believer’s choice deliberate or inadvertent that gives the enemy room to exercise such jurisdiction. In the tragedy of Ananias and Sapphira described in Acts 4:36-Acts 5:11, we see on one hand Barnabas‘ sacrificial gift for the well-being of the newly formed church compared to the pride and desire for acclaim, motivating the couple to give a gift but without the honesty or sacrifice exhibited by Barnabas and others.

Note Acts 5:3 “Why has Satan filled your heart” (verse 3)! They were free to give whatever percentage they set, for Peter says that the entire property sale price was under their control. Their sin lay in deceitfully alleging that the amount they gave was the whole of the sale price, when it was actually only a part. They deviously exaggerated their offering aligning themselves with the nature of Satan as described in John 8:44.

Any form of deceit is spiritually disastrous because trust is completely violated. God interpreted their action as tempting Him, seeing how much they could get away with. Their way of reaching their goals is so opposed to the gospel that God could not allow it to go unchallenged; it would have set the whole mission of the church off course. Honesty and integrity are the standard of God’s way of life. Sin is no light thing with God.

Don’t live behind a deceptive façade, one similar to the idea that, if one keeps the front windows clean, it does not matter how dirty the back ones are. Don’t allow yourself to become tools working to destroy the family relationship of trust within the church. God forcibly reminded them and us that He will not abide that.

In God’s family, we must treat one another with fairness and loving kindness, or we will not be in His Family. Ananias and Sapphira are shocking reminders to us that we will not get away with deceitfully cheating or taking advantage of our brethren. God may not appear to be in the picture, but only the faithless have this blindness. The penalty will be paid—unless repented of, it is only a matter of time. Ananias and Sapphira paid quickly as a lesson to us.

Photo by Gustavo Alves on Unsplash