Gambling And Pyramiding Christians: No Problem?

Last week's Powerball draw in the US had left at least three winners extremely happy, but millions of others heartbroken who had hoped for a windfall of wealth at the blink of an eye only in dreams possible. No backbreaking exertion, no big amount to take the risk but a few dollars coupled with the help of lady luck and voila, all this world can offer comes running to you.

The three winners from California, Florida and Tenessee are estimated to be dividing the incredibly huge amount of US$1.5 billion among themselves. Very few people in their lifetime have actually gone from rags to riches and zero to hero courtesy of the Powerball so one can easily understand the excitement and hope it gives bettors given the staggering amount of money to be won.

Gambling in general, is big business, and for some cities like Las Vegas and Macau, obviously it has been for many good reasons: their economies revolve around gambling revenues that in turn create employment opportunities and enhance tourism - all because people spend lots of money to get rich quickly and be entertained. Unfortunately, most people tend to get poorer instead of richer when gambling. This is not a shocking statistic as it is how the world operates. Throughout history, gambling has been a constant fixture in the lives of people - ordinary and great - both as a form of entertainment and as a passage to accumulating more wealth.

For Christians, is Gambling a Sin?

Of course, you will hear blunt reasoning left and right from biblically "smart" Christians who are into some not-so-obviously evil form of gambling saying the word gambling per se does not exist in the Bible hence, it is not considered a sin. True enough, the Scripture is silent on this subject as it is with other similarly interesting ones such as drug addiction, arson, pornography, etc. But does it mean to say when the Bible doesn't roar about them we Christians automatically get a free pass to get involved in such things? Certainly not!

Last year, a North Carolina single mom with four children said that the first person to get a cut of her $188 million Powerball lottery win will be the Lord "because I wouldn't have any of it if it wasn't for God". Last year, Marie Holmes was beaming with joy as she announced she will pay her tithes first to her church and the rest will be set up for college funds and the future of her four children.

It's not shocking that this single mom of four is a Christian for acknowledging God by her tithes. And she's not alone who frequents a Christian church, and probably serving God through a specific ministry. Statistics show that a lot of professing born-again Christians play the lottery and have no qualms whatsoever frequenting casinos for "entertainment" while many others pin their hopes on winning a Powerball so that they can be a blessing to others and their church. Sounds very alarming.

Gambling is inconsistent with biblical virtue. It is fueled by - and it fuels - covetousness, greed, and materialism. It is associated with crime, vice, and corruption, so that wherever gambling exists, crime rates rise. And it is contrary to the biblical work ethic because it is an attempt to gain wealth without working for it. Gambling violates a number of biblical principles and therefore, ought to be avoided in all its forms.

There is a sinister principle that underlies all forms of gambling: that for every winner, there are losers. And the winners' gains come at the losers' expense. There is no other way to gain money through gambling. When you win, you are taking that which belongs to another. The winners' profit always comes directly from the losers' pocket.

The following quotes from Scriptures can be taken as serious warnings for anyone who is into gambling:

"Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it." ~ Proverbs 13:11

"He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity." ~ Ecclesiastes 5:10

"A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished." ~ Proverbs 28:20

"A man with an evil eye hastens after riches, and does not consider that poverty will come upon him." ~ Proverbs 28:22

One of the biggest problems with gambling is this: It's win-lose. True wealth should be win-win, not win-lose. In gambling, millions have to lose for one to ultimately win. This is not God's design. God wants win-win. When a person creates a product, another person buys it. The customer gains something (the product), and the seller gains something (income). It's win-win. In gambling, it's the opposite. It's win-lose. Millions will lose, only one (or few) will win.

What is your reasoning for wanting to gamble? Is it to get rich quick? The Bible commands we should labor and earn wealth honestly - not by some luck of the draw. Being a compulsive gambler is certainly just as sinful as being drunk, drug addict, or being greedy. If you gamble to get rich, you may be loving money more than God (a sin). As the Scripture admonishes: a person who sets his will to work patiently and steadily will find his prosperity steadily increasing because God oversees the well-being of those who keep His commandments.

Equating Pyramiding Scheme with Gambling and why it thrives among Christian churches

Obviously, the two are distinctly poles apart - in form, in dynamics, and in methods by which they operate, but clearly the motivations are certainly the same. Online multi-level marketing plans aka pyramiding scheme per se cannot be classified as a form of gambling because in here you invest your money for unbelievably higher returns, sometimes yields are too-good-to-be-true that it can get addictive which drives investors even harder to enroll more recruits into the scheme. But as recruiting quickly multiplies and becomes impossible, most members are unable to profit; as such, pyramid schemes are unsustainable and often illegal. Some multi-level marketing plans that we always see being aggressively promoted in social media have also been classified as pyramid schemes.

Previously, we have written an article about certain churches whose members and even elders are into pyramiding scheme (rampant of which is the Emgoldex/Global Intergold). These churches aggressively teach that if you're generous in giving (and tithing), you will be tremendously blessed. They love to quote their favorite Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) as it strikes a chord with those whose goal is to scoop up all the favors that the generous God of the universe supposedly loves to rain down on them. They are oblivious to the fact that many lives and relationships have been ruined as a result of a church-sanctioned greed which they conveniently and shamelessly describe as "an exercise of faith or faith in action" in the context of "faith without action is dead".

The aggressive pyramiding activity within Filipino Christian churches especially in the Middle East goes unhampered and blatantly thriving because even pastors and leaders themselves are active players in what they call "an opportunity from God to be blessed abundantly". Note that to them the word abundance equates with financial prosperity. 

While society quickly labels gamblers as immoral, the social media savvy pyramiding warriors are conveniently called investors or online entrepreneurs. But just the same, the motivation is to get rich real quick and at the expense of the poor and gullible. Remember, it is the poor that play lotteries so that winners get their winnings from these bets. Likewise with those on the top levels of the pyramid who feed off the money and effort of those at the bottom level who most of the time do not necessarily share the luck of those above them and oftentimes are unable to recoup their hard-earned money when the pyramid collapses. Other schemes such as Emgoldex have produced sob stories of countless "investors" who were not able to get their rewards much less their investment money that led some of them into depression, broken relationships, and worst, suicides.

Wanting to get-rich-quick has proven repercussions

Just recently, we got to help a guy who survived a suicide attempt (of all places in the Middle East) and the backstory behind his attempt was a failed investment in Emgoldex that resulted in a complex series of problems that led to severe depression. His recruits demanded that their investment money be returned back as they could no longer wait for the supposed rewards or return of investment promised to them. But he could not do so because he had already remitted their investment money to their group leader who is in another country. He spent sleepless nights as a result of their constant bugging and jail threats. One thing leads to another, and before he came to his senses he had already flirted with death, and that episode leaves him mentally and psychologically scarred for life.

God indeed is good that even in this grave circumstance when everything seemed hopeless for this man He allowed us to minister to him throughout his ordeal until he had recovered and got reunited with his loved ones in the Philippines. During his month-long hospitalization, we were privileged to have shared the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to him and taught him the importance of contentment by which all men should live with. He aimed to get his hands on instant wealth yet found himself on the opposite end, but in his miserable state, he came to know the true meaning of being rich in life - that is, of having contentment in life and getting to know the One who gives genuine abundant life.

Despite serious warnings, lure of earthly riches proves to be some Christians' Achilles heels

The "parable of the rich fool" in Luke 12:16-21 conveys God's thoughts on man's foolish quest for more riches and His disdain for man's arrogance and discontentment. It is a serious warning that most people should heed. Sometimes it is convenient for us Christians to say, "okay, this is not me, only unbelievers and the godless tend to be like this rich man. I work hard, I invest my money, maybe a few dollars for a Powerball ticket won't really define me as a Christian, or maybe if I encourage people in our church to invest in Emgoldex it would be a great help for my brethren's financial status and consequently our church's finances". The moment you get your hands on your first goal, the bigger your next goal becomes, and suddenly the goal you've set for yourself becomes boundless.

This is exactly what motivated a brother in Christ when he encouraged us to enroll in the pyramiding business he was into - that he would set up funds to build a church in his home province and at the same time help us augment our incomes. Sometimes our "noble plan" to help our church and our brethren becomes a convenient facade behind that sinister motive to get to our goals, that is to enrich ourselves, because whether we admit it or not we dread being poor and struggling. We believe that God is rich and generous, and being the legalist that we are, we cleave to the principle of "rightful inheritance" so that we stake our claim to all that belongs to God.

Contentment and Obedience constitute true riches

Jesus in His sermon had urged His followers to choose to store up riches in heaven rather than on earth. Yet  this gem of an advice does seem to be unpopular among many Christians in favor of the Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) which proves to be very popular yet taken out of context as this verse refers to those who were in captivity in Babylon. (This verse is hardly quoted in its King James version as it sounds very different from the ear-tickling NIV.)

The apostle Paul had long predicted that "in the last days people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, arrogant, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness but denying its power". (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. ~ 1 Timothy 6:6-10

An important lesson of life to learn is that wealth is a means, not an end itself. Get-rich-quick schemes, cutting corners to get more for oneself and taking unfair advantage of another's ignorance will, in the end, destroy the perpetrator. Those who do these things to get rich are in reality seeking death because they are breaking the spirit of the eighth commandment that says "thou shalt not steal". But if we place God first rather than the accumulation of wealth, then we will use whatever He allows us to have, no matter how little or how much, to glorify Him (1 Cor. 10:31)

A Christian Perspective: The Online Pyramid Scheme

There's a new craze going on sweeping the internet that causes firestorm on social media in particular: the so-called Emgoldex investment scheme that promises too-good-to-be-true easy money, and bulks of it, that one finds hard to resist if he is diligent enough to find people to get on the bandwagon. Though staunch defenders of it claim it's not a pyramid scheme, its nature and dynamics say otherwise. Of late, even the Philippine government has issued warnings to its citizens (as it is a huge draw among OFWs) of the legal implications and unsustainability of the said scheme, yet this does not deter them from joining in and take risks with their hard-earned money.

This Emgoldex online company that purportedly sells gold to its clients uses some effective approach to make its "clientele" feel a sense of self-aggrandizement by referring to them, among others, "clients", "online entrepreneurs", or "investors" in order to get a psychological boost and affirm the legitimacy and legality of the so-called partnership, thus the confidence in the business relationship.

Convenient money who can resist it?

Why this particular online investment scheme became an overnight hit to so many Filipinos can only be attributed to its easy strategy: a client needs to find only two recruits, and voila, it  takes only a fortnight before he receives his gold or its equivalent, in this case most investors prefer to receive its cash equivalent amounting to 3,500 euro. Essentially, the cash prize (or return of investment) an investor receives comes from the investment money that his recruits had entrusted to him (or what they term it as "upline"). So, it is in every sense a pyramiding scheme, though I do not insinuate here that it is illegal, the fact that many personalities I personally know have already benefited from it. As a Christian, I have of the opinion that this lure of prosperity is a trap to so many Christians who unwittingly took the bait that will lead to a Christian's spiritual demise.

The Merriam - Webster dictionary describes pyramid scheme as "a usually illegal operation in which participants pay to join and profit mainly from payments made by subsequent participants". Wikipedia adds, "it's an unsustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public."

There are lots of pyramid schemes out there, famous of which and popular to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are the likes of AIM Global, SWA, Royale and ultimately Emgoldex. I myself as an OFW have been tagged and inundated with invites to join in one of these, specifically Emgoldex. Not only we OFWs become the most convenient targets for recruiters but our immediate family members as well due to the notion that we have the capabilities to invest in these said schemes.

This would have not been surprising considering that pyramid schemes have been in existent since time immemorial, and still people continually gravitate towards the lure of quick and exponential profits from their investment. Due to its nature of long-term unsustainability, many pyramiding businesses in the past have crumbled, along with the lives of those who put their trust and hope in them. From the mistakes of the past, pyramiding business has somehow evolved and perfected its strategy to counter the stigma of "unsustainability" appended to it, thus the emergence of highly successful so-called online investment scheme of which Emgoldex is at the forefront. But what is surprising and saddening is that a lot of Christians such as pastors, worship leaders, elders and legions of church members have joined the fray in the hope of experiencing huge windfalls they believe to be God's way of showering his blessings to his children.

Emgoldex frenzy in Christian churches a real cause of alarm

Had I not joined the conversation in one of the Christian groups on Facebook about a specific post on Emgoldex, I would have not realized the extent of its deep-seated impact among many 'believers' -  some of whom are my personal friends. When I posted Bible verses about contentment and Jesus urging believers to lay up treasures in heaven not on earth, I was immediately overwhelmed by a barrage of negative comments as if the whole Christian community was ganging up on me for my supposed wrong perception of God's favor for His children. That in itself was a shocking revelation knowing the lure of prosperity can create a mobster mentality in people who ironically flaunt themselves as Christians.

One commenter even boasted of their pastor who was able to build a new church because he invested in Emgoldex, and that the pastor's family do not starve anymore, all because of Emgoldex (i was seeing a golden calf in such a proud testimony). And that goes without saying the said pastor is a hard-working guy who uses his gift of gab to find new recruits as evidenced by their new church building and his family not going hungry anymore. This commenter's testimony of how Emgoldex changed the lives of so many Christians she knows including pastors even turned into boasting by saying "faith without action is dead", and that reading their bibles will not do them any good if they don't work up on their faith, in this case, Emgoldex saved the day for them. She continued, "thank you Lord for giving us Emgoldex" and "please stop giving us your nonsense" in shooing me away the next, that elicited a chorus of amens from other commenters who proudly outed themselves to be Emgoldex investors also. Needless to say, I retreated from the mob and said blessings to them.

If anything, what was revealed to me is the current sad state of what some Christian churches have become, spiritually. These pastors who lack discernment and have no desire for it, may be smiling ear to ear for an unprecedented meteoric increase in tithes, have the belief that God is well-pleased at his brand of service in the ministry. That facebook episode did not only serve as an eye-opener to me to the emerging trend, that is earthly prosperity, sweeping across evangelical churches in the Philippines and abroad.

 Church leaders as indirect complicit to the trap of prosperity

A few months back, the Lord led me out of a church whose aggressive stance on matters about tithing is such that you come out feeling like a criminal if you have not yet committed yourself to tithing. Obviously, judging from the delivery of exhortation, there is that sense of arrogance knowing that you belong to the tithers' club, and a sense of guilt and condemnation when you do not; the sad thing is, not everyone, including new attendees, pretty much understands this doctrine, yet being subjected to the same level of admonition. Their kind of exhortation conclusively conveys that if you give your full tithes, God will bless you tremendously, as if God's mercy and grace solely depend on your ability to give your tithes.

Fast forward to present, this same church has now its music director, praise and worship members, dance ministry leader, elders and other members, into the business of Emgoldex. These same people you would find on Facebook posting videos or photos of themselves waving bulks of cash as if to shame their detractors. One of them even goes as far as sticking his tongue out to the bulks of cash he is holding as if to tease his skeptics. The next, they post photos of themselves with their pastors and other members eating out at their favorite restaurant with captions: "katas ng Emgoldex" or loosely translated as "benefits from Emgoldex". What follows are photos of them waving their new iphone 6, huge plasma tv, and even shouting out their plans to buy a new car - for all the world to see.

Romans 12:15 says "rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep". Or it can be understood as "to be happy for those who are happy". But when you see your brethren acting and sounding like the world and displaying their love of the world, I think there is no reason at all to be happy with them. What we are seeing here is the deification of material prosperity under the guise of God's favor - and that what truly is upsetting. As sad as it gets, a lot of church people today come to church, not for their need of the Savior but what they can get from the Savior.

Why a born-again believer should shun activities like this

I am in no way against a Christian brother or a sister who wants to uplift their families' economic status as everyone of us strives to do the same, but the following are obvious reasons why a Christian should stay away from pyramiding schemes, and this practice should not be tolerated inside the church the way it has become prevalent in so many of them today:

It causes Christians to be worldly and materialistic. Although we are in this world, we need to remember that we are not of this world, and should not be living the way the world lives. 1 John 2:15 says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. First, he gets to achieve what his initial goals were, then the next, and higher, and so on, until sky is the limit. The obsession and preoccupation to the  limitless goals he has set for himself will ultimately lead to his spiritual demise. And this is the area where most Christians are perfectly vulnerable.

It causes Christians to covet. The example being, a Christian brother who sees his fellow Christian in the ministry who has recruited other church members to invest into the scheme and is now able to buy a lot of things and testifies behind pulpit that God has honored the works of his hands (and mouth, through the scheme) will now be encouraged to join the fray so that he too will be blessed by God. Envy and jealousy will take root, and that will lead to self-pity if he fails to achieve the same. Jesus says, And he said to them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses (Luke 12:15).

It sends out a wrong message to other Christians most especially the new believers that could derail their walk with Christ. What impression will it give other Christians and new believers alike when after Bible studies or worship service they find church workers in a huddle on every corner talking to new prospects and convincing them to get on board their scheme? What spiritual benefit does it contribute to other believers if the encouraging verses they used to share on facebook suddenly disappeared in lieu of the ubiquitous and aggressive sales pitch that go with photos fanning themselves with bulks of cash? Has greed overwhelmed the church while pastors sit idly by in perfect complicit to the pervasive materialism and worldliness that has gripped their congregation?

It increases the tendencies for them to associate with the wrong people for the wrong reason. Normally, a true Christian would not hesitate to make his faith known to unbelievers, rather he finds it as an opportunity to share the gospel to them. But in the case of a Christian winning over new recruits into the scheme, he tends to never bother mentioning the name of Jesus to them, in fact he is most likely to compromise his faith for fear of losing his prospect. He tends to agree with them, join in the kind of conversation they are comfortable with, and ultimately surprises them as though they are clueless that he goes to a Christian church as he does not sound like one. Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, "Be you not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion has light with darkness?" (2 Corinthians 6:14)

It steals away their precious time with God. All they have to do is to keep abreast of all the inquiries on their Facebook accounts, emails and other platforms where interested parties insist on knowing the dynamics of the business before they take the risk. This is pretty much the routine of Christians who use the internet (some are known to have skipped regular sleep) as their means to win over more recruits - the more recruits the more chances of fat cold cash rushing in. Sometimes, in their status they apologize to not being able to entertain questions as they are sitting in a pew, but admits to being tempted to reply to prospects so as not to lose prospective "clients". So, what else is left for God, much less quiet time, anyone?

It changes their priority. Now, it's more important for them to get more people to join in the scheme instead of witnessing for Christ. Witnessing as a command that every Christian must heed now takes a convenient backseat. "Witnessing will have its proper time and place and a suitable forum, but not now, I might get dissed knowing people find religion a polarizing subject, and besides how can I pitch my business proposal if I have a gospel in tow, so it must be one over the other, for now." In quest for prosperity, there is no such thing as "I've reached my bounds, time to get back to my roots" moments - it is an unending quest for more. It's just how the world operates, and some Christians are willing participants on that stage.

God wants us to prosper to the extent that our souls prosper

Again, I want to emphasize I am not against a brother or a sister who aspires for prosperity, in fact it is God's desire that His people prosper. The apostle John who was known for his closeness with the Lord, wrote to Gaius, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prosper" (3 John 1:2). He then went on to recognize some of the good works Gaius was doing for his fellow workers in the Lord. Gaius certainly could not have done much here had he been homeless, or poverty-stricken. Now this verse shows that God wants us to prosper in all things. John would not pray for something that was not the will of God. He prayed for Gaius because it was God's will that he prosper, and not Gaius only, for it is written that, "the Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of his servant" (Psalm 35:27). But it is not the kind of prosperity that most of us would conveniently interpret - for the key to real prosperity is the state of our soul. God wants us to "renew our minds" (Romans 12:2); but if our minds are carnal, our desires wicked, then earthly prosperity would not do us much good. If our minds are sufficiently renewed then it is definitely in God's interest to prosper us in all things, including material things.

I love the prayer of a wise man in Proverbs that says, "give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only may daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30: 8,9) This is the prayer that glorifies God; for this wise man knew in his heart that for as long as he is obedient to the commands and precepts of God, he will surely lack nothing because God will never forget him nor abandon him. In his letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul had this to say,

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." ~ (1 Timothy 6: 6-10)

The best investment, better than any other scheme

Can God trust you with money? He can't trust all that many people. The reason is, many Christians, whether they are rich or poor, trust in the money they have now more than in God's ability to provide for them. We are told not to trust in riches. Paul instructed Timothy. "Command those are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy." (1 Timothy 6:17). No matter how much we have accumulated in this world, there is always an encompassing threat that we cannot hold onto the fruits of our hands, for as long as we want.  

Jesus has warned, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21). The same is true for property, gold, shares, or any other assets we may have. They are "uncertain riches". God would like us to invest in something certain, something eternal. Does that sound like a good investment plan or not?

Get Rich Quick Online: Booby Trap For Christians

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.

Things drastically changed when I got stuck on a video sent by one of my friends that encourages online business with no fuss at all. Simply arm yourself with substantial time on Facebook and start befriending as many people as you can. "That is quite normal for a starter - the harder you work and spend time more online, the better and bigger the result" was some sort of encouragement from my top line. Before I know it, I was deep in a plunge as financial gains albeit insignificant come in a trickle. I heeded their advice and got fairly good result with my "persistence and hard work". This time, I almost breached the Facebook limit allowed for my number of friends.

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's warning

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.