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Sapphira is a fairly minor character in the Bible, yet some important things happen in her story. The tale of the sins of Sapphira and her husband Ananias serves as a lesson in the perils of dishonesty as well as a guide to others who give to the church. The story of Sapphira and Ananias was also the first instance of the word 'church' being used in reference to the Christian religion

Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events" (Acts 5:11).

Liz Curtis-Higgs laments the fact that the first use of the word 'church' is attached to fear and not something more warm and fuzzy like love or salvation (Curtis-Higgs,142). I agree that a modern Christian would think it an odd choice for the introduction of 'church', but if one looks at the god of the Old Testament, I feel the moment becomes more appropriate. The god of the Old Testament was a vengeful warrior who was carving out a religion in a land full of enemies and disbelievers. The warm and fuzzy god of love makes his debut in the New Testament, once the faith had been comfortably established and no longer needed the warrior quite as much. It only makes sense that "the first book of church history" (Metzger, et al, NT 160) would have touches of the Old Testament around the edges. The connection between fear and church and god is one of those touches.

I know that last paragraph was about the book of Acts and didn't exactly focus on the character Sapphira, but I just had to get that off of my chest because I found it interesting. Hope you liked it. But now, on to Sapphira!

Who was she? Sapphira was the wife of Ananais, the couple lived in Jerusalem and had recently decided to convert to Christianity when they enter the story. There's no mention of past sins or any reference to the couple's remarkable goodness, so it can be assumed that they were just average Hebrews, making their way in the world.

What did she do? She withheld money from the church. When Sapphira and Ananais joined up, Christian converts sold off all their belongings and

"then brought the money, and laid it at the apostle's feet" (Acts 4:37).

Converts were expected to give everything to the church and then, as Stephen preached:

"Leave all [their] relatives and go to the land that I will show you"

In other words, the followers had no money because the leaders controlled it all and everybody lived in a big commune. But hey, things could have been worse -- what if they had gone and joined a cult?

Sapphira and husband made the mistake of retaining some of the money they earned from selling off a piece of property, hedging their bets, as it were. Peter knew that they were holding some back and confronted Ananais when he delivered the money, saying

"Ananais...why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land?" (Acts 5:3).

Ananais promptly dropped dead like any decent sinner would do, and his body was carried out and buried immediately. Three hours later, Sapphira drops by and is likewise confronted by the wrathful Peter:

"Peter said to her, 'Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price?' And she said 'Yes, that was the price'" (Acts 5:8).

Oh, that was a mistake. By not ratting out her husband, Sapphira sealed her doom. Peter then told her of her husband's death and she also dropped like a rock.

How has this affected our view of women in modern culture? Well, women have historically had a more difficult time progressing in the business world because of sexism, but I don't think it's all based on Sapphira's handling of the real estate deal. I think few people today would agree that Sapphira and Ananais deserved to die for their sins. Most modern church members are allowed to keep enough of their money to live comfortable, independent lives outside the church, though tithing is still a big part of church culture. Sapphira's story also serves as a warning to those who give just for the sake of good press.

Curtis-Higgs argues that Sapphira and Ananais were taking more credit than they deserved by claiming that they were giving everything to god. "The issue was honesty, not money" (Curtis-Higgs, 138), and I can see her point. I know there are many people who give to the church and other organizations just so that they can see their name on a building or claim a tax write off. Those people shouldn't get the same amount of admiration as someone like Mother Theresa, who gave out of love and spiritual obligation, but they shouldn't be killed.

So did she redeem herself? Well, she and her husband certainly became memorable examples for the church to point to. The couple can be pointed to as greed, pride and dishonesty personified. Still, I don't see greed and pride as primary motivations for Sapphira and Ananais. Secondary motivations, perhaps, but I believe their main justification for their actions would have been fear. If a person joins up with a fledgling faith today sells off everything and cuts all ties to family and friends, they're generally thought of as in need of a forceful rescue followed by some serious deprogramming. I think that by holding back some of their money, the couple was being rather prudent.

As to their dishonesty, yes, they lied to the church, I can't deny that. But what else were they supposed to say? I can just picture Ananais walking up to Peter, awkwardly scuffing his sandle back and forth and saying "Gosh, Peter, we sure would like to join this new religion you keep talking about. In fact, we've decided to convert...but just in case you're all wingnuts, the little woman and I would like to keep a few sheckles in a shoebox. Would that be okay?"

Somehow, I don't think that would work. Sapphira and Ananais were scared, but they were trying to put their faith in this new god. Maybe if they had gotten away with their fabrication, they would have become extremely devout members of the church. Later, they might have repented for their sins and gave the church the shekels they'd skimmed. Unfortunately, we'll never know since they were cut down by God. Boy, and to think that it's wiseguys and bookies who take all the heat for being ruthless.

Sapphira was a little cheap and a little unfaithful to God, but she didn't deserve to die. She might have been a bad girl, but she was a smart businesswoman. Plus, she didn't rat, and any wiseguy would respect that.

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