Wednesday October 31
Generosity and Greed
Luke tells us that one of the natural outgrowths of the fellowship experienced by Jesus’ followers soon after Pentecost was their mutual support of each other. “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (Acts 2:44, 45, NKJV).
This sharing of common goods is not a requirement of the community but a voluntary outgrowth of their love for each other in the fellowship they experience. It is also a concrete expression of their unity. This mutual support continued for some time, and we are given more details about it in Acts 4 and 5. It is also a theme that we find in other places in the New Testament, as we will see next.
What is the difference between what we read of here, and socialism in the world? Share a Bible verse that helps to explain this difference.
It is in this context that Barnabas is introduced for the first time. He appears to be a wealthy person who owned land. Having sold his property for the benefit of the community, he brought the money to the apostles (Acts 4:36, 37). Barnabas is portrayed as an example to follow.
Read Acts 4:32-37 and 5:1-11.
4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any [of them] that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
4:33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
4:34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
4:35 And laid [them] down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
4:36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, [and] of the country of Cyprus,
4:37 Having land, sold [it], and brought the money, and laid [it] at the apostles' feet.
5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
5:2 And kept back [part] of the price, his wife also being privy [to it], and brought a certain part, and laid [it], at the apostles' feet.
5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back [part] of the price of the land?
5:4 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.
5:5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
5:6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried [him] out, and buried [him].
5:7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
5:8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
5:9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband [are] at the door, and shall carry thee out.
5:10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying [her] forth, buried [her] by her husband.
5:11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Compare the behaviors and attitudes of Barnabas with those of Ananias and Sapphira. What went wrong with this couple?
The did not love God supremely, nor their neighbors as themselves.
Besides their sin of outright lying to the Holy Spirit, these people also displayed greed and covetousness. Perhaps no sin can destroy fellowship and brotherly love faster than selfishness and greed.
Amen! Then why do so many not understand there will be unity in the church until church members and church leaders are emptied of self (converted)? Until we hear the gospel being preached in our pulpits and printed on our presses, what hope is there we shall have unity?
If Barnabas serves as a positive example of the early church’s spirit of fellowship, Ananias and Sapphira are the opposite. Luke is honest in sharing this story about less virtuous people in the community.
In the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:1-17), the last commandment, about covetousness, is unlike the others. While other commandments speak of actions that visibly transgress God’s will for humanity, the last commandment is about what is hidden in the heart. The sin of covetousness is not an action; rather, it is a thought process. Covetousness, and its companion selfishness, is not a visible sin but a condition of sinful human nature. It becomes visible only when manifested in selfish actions, such as what was seen here with Ananias and Sapphira. In a sense the last commandment is the root of the evil manifested in the actions condemned by all the other commandments. Their covetousness opened them to Satan’s influence, which led them to lie to God; this is not unlike what Judas’s covetousness led him to do, as well.
Self is the problem. The only way to not be selfish is to be converted, to allow the Holy Spirit to take possession of the heart wholly. If we do not love God with the whole heart, then self remains alive and we are none of His (Romans 8:9 ).
What are ways in which we can seek to uproot covetousness from our own lives? Why is praise and thanksgiving for what we have a powerful antidote to this evil?
We need Jesus all of the time. When we do not have Him, we will sin because our nature is sinful. Our only hope is to be crucified with Christ, to be dead to self, to be born of the Spirit. Then we shall be filled with the fruits of the Spirit, not one will be missing.