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Greed, Deception, and Death
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Whenever Richard reads the story of Ananias and Sapphira, he finds it very easy to get sidetracked by their sudden deaths at the feet of Peter. What sort of power did Peter wield over the early church? Were Ananias and Sapphira just so overcome by guilt and fear that they simply collapsed and died? While it is easy to get sidetracked by their deaths, he believes that it is important to set aside the how of their deaths occurred and focus on what the story of Ananias and Sapphira can tell us about sin and discipleship.
Remembering that we have defined sin as the rupturing and damaging of various relationships, Ananias and Sapphira damaged two different relationships when they held back some of the money from their land sale. First, the couple were greedy. As we observed above, greed is sinful because it subverts the common good in our relationships with others. We are greedy when we decide to privilege our desires and pleasures over the legitimate needs of other persons. As noted above, from a Christian perspective each of us has a responsibility to insure that others have a fair share of resources and opportunities so that they can flourish. When we hoard money and possessions, after our own basic needs have been met, then we are greedy. This is exactly what Ananias and Sapphira did, when they held back some of the sale proceeds from the community. In so doing, they fractured their relationship with other members of the church, and this was sinful.
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