God knows the heart

Acts 5 tells the (uncomfortable) story of the married couple Ananias and Sapphira. After selling some property, they donate some of the proceeds to the church. But they tell the church that they are donating all of the proceeds.

Peter notes (in verse 4) that it's fine if they want to donate just part of the proceeds. In fact, it's fine if they don't want to sell the property at all. The sin is claiming to have donated all. As Peter notes (Acts 5:4, KJV),

Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

Ananias and Sapphira then fall dead.

This story fits into a larger theme: God sees what's in our hearts. We might be able to fool other people with lies and deceptions, but we can't fool God. As noted in Proverbs 15:11 (NLT),

Even death and destruction hold no secrets from the LORD. How much more does he know the human heart!

Amazingly, it can be difficult for us to be honest with God even in our prayers! But recall, God wants us to worship in spirit and truth.