Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

Acts 5:3-4

What you have a right to do is not always the right thing to do. Peter dealt with a couple in the first century Church who had a problem with their rights. They lied about how they were going to use their own property, even when they had no obligation in the first place. They used their rights as leeway to do something wrong!


Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

We have to be on guard against such behavior, especially in relation to material goods. It might be tempting to make yourself look good by promising a lot but the sin comes when parting with those things causes you to become a liar by going back on your decision. It doesn’t take much! Make sure you are a cheerful giver.

Ethan Kirl