Who Do You Like More: Barnabas, or Ananias and Sapphira?

[426 words] My kids are into asking me who I like more in movies and literature (for example, Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi; Harry or Hagrid, etc.). We ask questions like this and compare names occasionally, but usually it doesn’t involve a comparison of one who has a good reputation with someone who doesn’t. It’s kind of a no-brainer in that situation.  With the names given in the title above, one name conjures good feelings and a striking reputation as one who encouraged and helped. The other two names are associated with greed, selfishness, and a terrible end. In Acts 4:36-5:11, both Barnabas and Ananias and Sapphira gained a testimony primarily with what they did with their possessions and money. Consider three applications that might say a lot about what people might come to think about us:  With my money, I might help others or I might be selfish. We…