Have you ever been sitting at home alone watching something dumb on TV or Netflix, and when you heard tires in the driveway you felt the need to jump up and do something productive? “Oh, you’re home? I was just washing the dishes!” Have you ever been in a conversation about some sports star, celebrity, or politician who you didn’t know anything about, but you pretended like you did because you felt like you really should? “Yeah, that guy’s a terrible quarterback!”

Why do we do things like that? Why do we pretend to do things we don’t, know things we don’t, and be things we aren’t? Because we’ve learned how to brand ourselves.

We all have a brand. When people see me, I want to make sure what they see fits the Matt Dirks™ brand that I’m working so hard to build. And you do the same thing. Your brand might be semi-related to who you really are, but I guarantee that who you are when nobody else is looking is at least a little different than who you are at church, at work, and on social media.

There was a couple in the Bible who were the same way. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to build a personal brand that communicated love, compassion, and extreme generosity:

Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 5:1-2)

They wanted to impress other people with their great generosity, but it was all just branding. They were only giving away a small portion of what they really made. So Peter confronted them:

Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

In other words, “Why in the world did you feel the need to lie about this?”

“While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?”

In other words, “Did any of us force you to sell your property?” The answer is no, but to Ananias the answer is yes. In his mind, he was forced to sell it because he felt a burning desire to impress the people in the church. Peter continues…

“After it was sold, was it not at your disposal?”

In other words, “After you sold it, did anyone force you to give the money away?” And again the answer is no, but Ananias is saying, “Yes! I wanted the kind of respect that you give other people who make big donations, so I had to do something big and dramatic.”

Ananias felt coerced into selling his property and giving away the money, even though nobody ever said a single word to him about it. That’s what happens when we feel the need to impress other people. We start to become slaves to them. We feel like we need to do whatever it takes to earn their approval.

But the gospel tells us that we already have the approval of God:

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.  (Romans 8:33-34)

Jesus died for you, and he took away your sin. Then he rose from the grave and gave you his righteousness. Now he’s standing at the right hand of God, speaking only the best about you every single day.

Your brand enslaves you. Jesus frees you.