Are you Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing? Say What? As always, this blogger has questions? Now, let’s have a story…Who doesn’t love a good story?
There once was a man named Ananias. He and his wife, Sapphira hatched a plan.
“Sapphira dear, let’s sell this piece of our property? But, we will keep a portion of the proceeds hidden for ourselves. I shall take the rest and lay it at the apostle’s feet.”
Sapphira sweetly replies, “Ok Ananias. Whatever you want, my adoring husband?”
Boy, I wouldn’t see it playing out that way in my home. But, that is another story for another day. Here is a little background for you. In Acts 4, people started selling their possessions and laying proceeds at the apostle’s feet. Therefore, this couple decided to do as the others in their community and sell a piece of their property. Yet, they also decided (yes ladies, they decided together) to hold back a portion of the proceeds and to lay the rest at the apostle’s feet. (Go check the full story out in Acts 5)
Here is where things get interesting:
Upon laying this decided amount at the apostle’s feet,
Peter says, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the land…you have not lied to men but to God?”
After hearing these words, Ananias fell down & died!
His wife, Sapphira comes looking for him (my ESV version says after about 3 hours).
Here is how it goes down for her:
“And Peter said to her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much money.”
Sapphira responds, “Yes, for so much.”
But Peter says to her, “How is that you have agreed together (see ladies, TOGETHER) to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
Sapphira stays true to her and Ananias’ plan, the result she’s dead too!
There are so many questions that swirl around in my head upon reading this but I will not bore you with them today. Instead, let’s look at what God gave me during my reading of this portion of scripture:
There are two types of people:
1. Drop Dead
2. Proudly Possessing
It never says, how much Ananias & Sapphira conspired to hold back. We need to come to the realization that if we hold anything back, even the tiniest portion it is a bad thing. It didn’t matter if Ananias had held back 1% or 90% the result would have been the same. Why? Because the action of holding back wasn’t their sin, their sin was in thinking they could hide it. Hence, DROP DEAD!
Does this mean we can hold back and it is okay as long as we don’t try to hide it? Uh…. No!
When we walk around saying, “God knows that I struggle with letting go of my children, husband, insert whatever you fight God over” does not mean that we are okay because we are not being Ananias or Sapphira and attempting to hide it.
This is PROUDLY POSSESSING. It is like false humility. Neither of them is good for us.
Proudly Possessing keeps God from having full reign in our lives. People who are proudly possessing are some of the same ones who cry that they don’t see God working through them like their friends.
So, we have come back to our original question:
Are you Drop Dead or Proudly Possessing?
***All pictures on this blog unless otherwise stated belong to Dew Photography***
