It’s a simple, proven program: You bring me five souls, and they each get five souls, and… pretty soon, you’ll have a halo, company wings, and a six-figure residual income for eternity.

God wants us to evangelize - if The Lord Jesus had 12 disciples and his 12 disciples had more than 80 other disciples on their own which spread on to create the entire church structure, then are we to say that Christianity is a pyramid scheme?

A 'Holy' pyramid perhaps :)

Haha - I guess MLM is biblical.

By Khai



Have you ever wondered whether it is wrong to pray that God will bless you with wealth and riches? Is there any problems with wanting to earn as much money as you can while you are living in the earthly realm?

My circle of friends are all entrepreneurs and to be able to associate within their circles, you have to be making a minimum of a 5 figure monthly income in order to qualify to interact with their level of expertise. So we talk about money and making money all the time.

However, many churches are reluctant to talk about money and wealth as they feel that money is a topic that is taboo and they avoid talk about it altogether within Christian circles.

In fact, Christians who bring up the topic of money are often frowned upon!

Let Scripture Be The Final Authority!

According to many of the reformers and puritans, they believed in the authenticity and the legitimacy of scripture (as we should, today) as evident in Sola Scriptura - in other words, by scripture alone to prove what is right, what is wrong, and what is true and what is false.

Therefore, we will let scripture decide what is the right viewpoint - especially after a careful exegesis to let us know if what we believe in is indeed biblical or not.

The Difference Between Money And Mammon

Let's establish these two points so that we do not get confused with the actual terms:

1. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
   
   
   Matthew 6:24 KJV
   
   

   Firstly, we must NOT confuse money and mammon - Money is NOT mammon! It is merely a MEDIUM of Exchange! Therefore money is NEUTRAL!
   
   On the other hand, mammon is the LOVE for money. Remember, money is neutral so there is nothing wrong with money, but if you obsess about something so much, even something good can turn into a venue for SIN.
   
   
   
2. Most people say that money is the root of all evil, but that statement is incorrect. The truth is that money is NOT the root of all evil but rather the LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil, hence the definition of mammon is personified in the love of money.
   
   So there is nothing wrong with money, in and of itself.
   

Money is a medium of EXCHANGE - nothing more!

Money is first and foremost a medium of exchange. As human society became increasingly more complex, it became inconvenient for humans to barter one commodity or service for another or to exchange a certain quantity of labor for a certain quantity of some commodity. No one invented money; it simply developed.

In this sense of a medium of exchange, money is both a social and an economic convenience. It makes complicated economic ex­changes more convenient and more efficient than if each person had to barter commodities and services directly with other people.

Imagine how silly it would be if you try barter trading.

It would be possible to trade a LIVE cow for 3 loaves of bread...
But how on earth are you going to get a cow if you have only ONE LOAF of bread?
Unless you are running a steak house like Tony Roma or The Ship, is it IMPOSSIBLE to try and divide a live cow.

And it get's worse... what if the cow guy wants something else like chicken, and the bread guy would have to find someone who wants his bread and is willing to give a chicken to him.

Basically, without an economic system, we would be running around wasting time and more monetary resources trying to find a common medium!

Money is also important for STORING WEALTH. It is impossible to save money if people only gave you bread all the time. Imagine getting a whole barnyard filled with bread? After a week, your 'money' will turn into this:


It is preposterous to imagine consuming all your 'assets' in the present. Therefore, not only is money important as a medium of exchange and a means of measurement, it is also a way to store your wealth!

Therefore, the conviction of Christians that money is evil is an erroneous heresy based on several economic misunderstandings.

Remember, the purpose of value exchange is that it has to leave BOTH parties in a better position than they were before the trade.

Common Misconceptions About Jesus' Parables

Claims that the Bible condemns wealth or that God hates all the rich are clearly incompatible with the teachings of Jesus, who saw noth­ing inherently evil in money, wealth, or private ownership. (Otherwise, Abraham, David and Solomon would be condemned in hell for being rich)

What the Lord certainly condemned is materialism and the compulsive desire to acquire wealth, but he never condemned wealth in and of itself!

Remember, Jesus has wealthy friends and followers (Luke 14:1); he stayed in the homes of wealthy people; he ate at their tables (Luke 11:37).

The parable of the talents outlined in Matthew 25:14-30 talks about stewardship and investing your money wisely.

Jesus blessed the 'rich' investor who was given 10 talents by giving him an additional 10 because of his proper stewardship of money. However, he condemned the foolish investor because he buried his one and only talent into the ground.

This lesson shows us Christians that when God gives you money, you should invest them wisely and grow your wealth rather than stash them away in the bank and let it rot there.

It shows that God clearly takes an interest in the economic cycle as an economic system CANNOT grow if money doesn't 'roll' if you know what I mean...

Jesus didn't condemn the rich man and blessed the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:20) because of the size of their bank account - it was based on Lazarus' FAITH and not because it is a sin to be rich. The rich man was unregenerate - therefore he had no faith in God and descended to hell. If Lazarus never placed his faith in the living God, he wouldn't even be anywhere near Abraham's bosom. So it has nothing to do with wealth as outlined in this parable.

Likewise, Jesus didn't require that all Christians give away all their wealth and possessions to the poor to follow him just as he told off the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-23). He was merely TESTING his commitment by revealing where the ruler's heart lay, his trust in riches rather than the faith and providence of God.

God's Plan For Man

Let's examine what God really wants us to do with the pursuit of wealth!

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."


God created us in his images, so traces of his character is evident in humans who display the characteristics of God in a way.

The first instance of the bible, the task given to man is to RULE the earth manage it's resources!

God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."


Shortly afterwards, God told man to be fruitful and multiply, once again, by subduing every other living thing on earth - man is to RULE and PROGRESS, not sit at home earning just 'enough money'. God wants us to GO OUT THERE and CREATE VALUE for society.

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.


God also placed man in charge of tending the garden of Eden.