God often proves to be other than people think... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
Acts 5:4-5

God often proves to be other than people think. Here, for example, death struck a man suddenly for lying before God. Is God therefore severe, when he makes use of His power unreservedly towards the weak?
Let us first briefly examine what preceded this judgment. Holy zeal for the Lord reigned among the early Christians at the start of the history of the church. Many offered their possessions for His cause. The landowner Ananias and his wife also wanted to comply. He also sold a field and made it appear that he was donating the entire sale price for the work of Christ. However, it was only a part; he kept the rest for himself. Before God that was his lie. He wanted to appear more God-fearing than he really was.
Do we regard that as a trivial matter? It may be that such a case has been repeated millions of times since then in one form or another. But today just as then a lie remains a lie. If our holy God punished that wrong with death, it was, as we believe, because of the precedent Ananias set. He dared to be the first to introduce untruth and hypocrisy into pristine Christianity.
Now we must be aware of one thing: God takes note of every lie, even if He does not punish it immediately. Mankind encroaches on His holiness, when he oversteps God's standards. That must make us think! Above all, however, this report in the Bible should make it clear to us that God is holy and can therefore not simply overlook sins.
Today's reading: Acts 2:1-21