Theft

Theft

I have been pondering the reality of the pain that attends one who has been robbed.

Certainly, there is the terrifying concept of being confronted in the night by an armed robber who tells you to hand over your money or you'll lose your life.

Under those circumstances, you are in great peril for a moment and in disbelief that such an unthinkable confrontation could have happened to you.

Then there is the heart-wrenching theft that occurs when someone who you trusted betrays you; when someone you invited into your home takes the opportunity of an unguarded moment to rifle through your things and help themselves to possessions that you treasure because of the memories attached to them.

I think of Ananias and Saphira.

Anyone familiar with the Biblical account of their relationship to the early church will remember that they sold a piece of property and donated a portion of the proceeds to their congregation. The story tells us that they misrepresented the amount of the money they had in hand that they were giving to the church.

Perhaps they believed they would be better thought of if they said they donated the whole amount than if they admitted to retaining a portion for themselves.

This was a grievous miscalculation on their part. They were struck dead for their deception.

One has to wonder if such a dire end befell two people who lied about the portion of their sale price they donated, how much more exacting would God be if Ananias and Saphira had actually stolen from a member of the congregation.