Killed for money?

Now and then, someone wanting to discredit the Bible will bring up the story seen in Acts 5:1-11. The accusation made is that Ananias and Sapphira were killed because they did not give all of their money to the church, as other members had. Let's take a closer look at what was really going on (I'm using the NET here):

"Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. He kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet.  But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land?  Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God! When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped all who heard about it. So the young men came, wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened.  Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you paid this amount for the land?” Sapphira said, “Yes, that much.”  Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” At once she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.  Great fear gripped the whole church and all who heard about these things."

Now, on the surface, this looks pretty disturbing. It appears to the uninitiated that they were executed by God because they didn't give ALL of the money they received for the land. A more careful reading in context shows that something else is happening here. Let's step back to Ch. 4:32-37:

"The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. For there was no one needy among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds from the sales and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds were distributed to each, as anyone had need. So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated 'son of encouragement'), sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and placed it at the apostles’ feet."

 Ananias and Sapphira were wrongly motivated. They were looking for the acknowledgement of the others, rather than looking to do good. They saw an opportunity to be viewed highly by their peers without (they thought) actually having to give as sacrificially as those others had done. They were not seeing this as an opportunity to serve. The ironic part is, of course, that they could have given a significant gift to the church and still retained some of it for themselves, and everything would have been fine. [Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal?] The problem came when they lied about it. As the church was just "getting rolling," so to speak, it was important that members recognized its significance and God-given authority. God made an example of these two, which had a huge effect on the rest. They weren't judged for holding back money, they were judged for lying to God's representatives, therefore ultimately to Him. [You have not lied to people but to God!]