Deception Can Be Deadly
Updated: May 28, 2021
There's a story about a husband and wife who found a church that they loved. The preached word about Jesus was good. The fellowship between the believers was awesome. There was such unity and a sense of brotherhood among all the members. They loved fellowshipping with this group of people. People were so loving and giving. Whenever someone had a need, one of the members would sell what they owned and bring the money to the church to meet the need. The idea caught like wild fire and spread throughout the group. Soon everyone started started selling their houses and land and giving the money to the church. Such beautiful acts of charity. Everyone in that church was provided for and no one had any unmet needs.
After witnessing this first hand, the husband and wife decided to participate in the giving. They sold a parcel of land that they had and brought the money to the church leaders.
Then something went terribly wrong.
At home, the husband and wife decided that they would not give the church all the money that the land was sold for. They decided to keep a portion of the money for themselves. There's nothing wrong with that. It's their property and they can decide how much they want to give to the church. Where they made their mistake is 1) They lied about how much the land was sold for and 2) They lied to the Holy Spirit.
They thought they would tell the church leaders that the amount of money that they donated was the total price that the land sold for. They assumed that the church leaders would be none the wiser. Wrong! The Holy Spirit will tell your secrets in a New York minute if you insist on being deceitful. So the church leaders confronted them with the lie that they told. They quickly informed them that they did not lie to men but they lied to the Holy Spirit. Why did the church leaders tell them this quickly? Because as a result of their lie, the husband and wife both dropped dead immediately.
God hates deception. Lies block truth and intimacy. Always remember that this is a spiritual walk. What are your thoughts?
You can read this story in Acts Chapter 5.
