Bad Girls of the Bible- Chapter 6 Bible Study

Welcome back!

If you are new, thanks for stopping by!

Last week we talked about Delilah and Samson, but mostly Delilah.

Today I am going to focus on Sapphira.

Chapter 6: Generous to a Fault

The truth.

The whole truth.

And nothing but the truth, so help you God.

I'm curious if hearing those words would have prompted Sapphira and her hubby to think twice before lying about the money.

It seems in this day and age so many people lie about money.

Usually it's putting on the front that they have more than they have.

I mean seriously credit card debt, new homes, new cars, fancy wardrobes.

I'm guilty in one way or another, I'm sure many of us are.  

I've told you a ton of times that we are working hard to pay of student loans, 5 year plan.

Fortunately, we have paid off our credit cards!!!

I can't imagine if people would fall down dead now days when confronted with their financial situations.

How would you fair, eek?

But let's zoom out a little and take a look at a bigger picture that knocked me off my feet.

ACTS 4:32-35

All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of their possessions were their own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.  For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

Can you imagine a church community like this?

How about one like this now days?

Honestly, we have all that we need and then some.

But I know that there are people in the church who might be hurting.

But because of those financial facades we put on it's harder to tell now days.

I think the closest we have come to selfless generosity recently was when our neighbor lent us his lawn mower after our broke.  

When I think about a community such as this where things were freely shared, my mind immediately goes to the idea of being able to borrow a car from time to time.

We are a one car family and there are days when being in 2 places with one car is a challenge.  

If only there was a community car that could be shared.

I digress....

LUKE 12:33-34

Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also.

Where is your treasure?
I think most of us would say that we value our family most in life.
Which to me means that earthly possessions are just THINGS compared to the love and support of our family.
Where do you think Sapphira and her husbands treasure lay?
Why do you think they kept some for themselves?
Do you think they knew their actions were wrong, but that maybe they justified and rationalized it in their minds and hearts?

Read this verse and see what the Bible says about the virtues of generosity:

Psalm 112:5 Good will come to those who are generous & lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice.

Proverbs 11:25 A generous person will prosper; who ever refreshes others will be refreshed.

2 Corinthians 9:13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourself, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

When you read over the story do you think that Sapphira's problems was that she was trying to keep up with the 'Joneses'?

How do you resist the tendency to engage in the tit for tat warfare of need vs want?

We still fall victim to the inner craving from time to time, but I think having a financial goal right now is really helping us curve this bad habit. 

I think Dave Ramsey says it best, "Live like no other, so you can live like no other"!

EPHESIANS 4:25

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

That verse tells us that we need to stop competing with each other!

Help each other.

Build each other up!

I can't help but wonder if this tale would have gone differently if Sapphira and her husband would have just be up front from the get go.

If they would have said, "Hey, so yeah, we thought we might make X amount on the sale, but we made more and since we made Y% more we were hoping we could keep the extra".

Maybe they had some debt they were trying to pay off?

I don't know, none of us does.  

We never know the heart of a person, that is between that person and God.  

WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM SAPPHIRA?

- 1 - Pride and generosity don't mix.

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver". ~2 Corinthians 9:7

- 2 - Learn to give when nobody's looking.

"But when you give to the needy, do not let your lefthand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret". ~Matthew 6:3-4

- 3 - Honesty isn't the best policy; it's the only policy.

"Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies". ~Psalm 34:13

- 4 - You pay your money, you make your choice

"The truly righteous man attains life, but he who pursues evil goes to his death". ~Proverbs 11:19

All in all I think we can agree that we should be honest.

We should not put on fronts.

We should help each other out.

We should be shining examples of God's love.

And we can't get away with anything, because he sees everything.

I hope you have enjoyed this time of study.

Please let me know if you would like to see something in particular in our discussions or if you have any questions.

I hope you have a Blessed Friday!