If you are active on social media such as Facebook, chances are your wall or private messaging has been awash with invitations to join online business ventures that their unabashed persistence gets so pretty annoying. Not to be content with an invitation for you to like certain pages so that you get to understand the dynamics of how to become rich solely via Facebook, your posts could also be targets as platform for never-ending business links that they pass as comments. And that's the last thing you would want to see underneath your posts. Others may go the extra mile by brazenly posting countless links on your wall if they find out you are not savvy enough to control your setting. While it is best to ignore them, most people may take offense at it for this rude and intrusive behavior.
A Christian Dilemma
As Christians, your are thrown into a dilemma of how to handle the situation without them getting offended. It is this easy if those invites come from unbelievers or virtual friends whom you actually don't know: hit the block button if this fellow has nothing but business blah blah, get-rich-schemes posts that you see 24/7 on your home feed. (Expect that they live off on their generous time to get people on board their schemes and that it doesn't bother them a bit how people would react to such an aggressive intrusion.)
Here lies the conflict: what if that person is a fellow Christian whom you see in a weekly or bi-weekly basis because you belong in one church? So, how would you deal with such an enormous burden of confronting him or her that you don't share with his/her passion to get rich that easy? I am in no way undermining people who only desire to uplift their economic situation in life - that is a noble objective - everyone strives to do the same - as every human being naturally does. Most unbelievers do not see anything wrong with it - that is very normal to them, but in a Christian perspective, how is this even a thing of real value and priority? Does the Word of God fall short in admonishing us believers that "contentment with godliness is great gain"?
Christian brother or sister in a workplace scenario:
"Everyone in the office knows that I am a born-again Christian - I've spoken loud and clear about my faith, and my boss knows that too. People like me have a reputation of being harmless and trustworthy. Easily I earn respect for being "closer to God than anyone in the group". I started with very few and select group of people as my Facebook friends. I post beautiful Bible verses daily and get tons of likes for it. I have always wanted to invite more people into the church - after all I have read about the Great Commission and wanted people to experience the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Of course I would argue that I am not in sin by reaping the benefits of my hard work. It's just that, I have neglected my prayer time and even at work when there is time to read the Word of God, my mind is preoccupied with something else. I hate to accept it but my online preoccupation has impacted my spiritual life negatively, so much so that instead of sharing the gospel of Jesus to other people I tend to encourage them instead to join my network. Well, I can still compensate my lack in that department by sparing my few hours to church on Thursdays to practice so that I am still visible during worship service on Fridays." Really?
Church leadership's failure to address the issue
What if the pastor and elders fail to see there is something unhealthy going on in your walk with God? Are they not your Facebook friends that they fail to notice your "entrepreneurial gifts" through your posts? Or perhaps they honestly do not see anything hideous with your posts so that admonishing you as a brother is the last thing they ought to do? Or maybe they feel reluctant to enlighten you so as not to offend you? And worst what if you are not alone? in fact there are many of you in the church and some are elders, pastors, 'prophets' or prophetesses' that are into this kind of activity.
Why entice people to the possibility of becoming millionaires if they join your business network online? Is God's provision not enough for all our needs? This is no ordinary invitation for it is shockingly coming from a supposed prophetess who is known in this Christian community. You will see in her Facebook posts "wealthcoming" her new recruits - some are even pastors. Seriously, have we gone that low in our Christian walk? What is more shocking is that, I have yet to hear church leaders rebuking and being rebuked for this ungodly activity.
The apostle Paul was very clear about his warnings concerning "false teachers and the love of money" lumped into one as being inseparable in their significance to Christian doctrine. In his first letter to Timothy chapter six, the apostle Paul rejected other teachings that have pervaded the church apart from the gospel that he received from the Lord Jesus Christ. He underlined the virtue of "godliness with contentment as great gain" as opposed to others whose focus are earthly gains. 1 Timothy 6:10 is a verse often misquoted by many " as money being the root of all evil, instead of the love of money as the root of all evil. There is absolutely nothing wrong with money for it is a necessity in life, but when your love for it supersedes its necessity then expect evil to abound.
Wake up Christians! It's time to go back to basic. Read, study and search the Word of God so that we fall not into diverse temptations from the enemy. He will use even matured people in the faith, even the one next to you or even the one you admire the most in the church. Personally, I cringe seeing this activity being prevalent anywhere among church people, and if by any indication, I do not see its peril being exposed in churches anytime soon. And because we desire financial prosperity more than spiritual discernment, we will duly reap what we rightfully deserve, at a cost.
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