Edification

The God of the Bible versus the god of MLM

Edification

The term "edification" means different things to different people. As a benchmark, here is the entry from the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

" to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge; also : ENLIGHTEN, INFORM"

To the god of MLM, ‘edification’ has a very different meaning.

It’s early September, on a warm Saturday night, about 10:00 P.M. You and twenty thousand other MLM distributors are packed, sweaty tight, into a poorly ventilated coliseum. You’ve been there since 6:00 A.M. The meetings didn’t start until 10:00 A.M., but you ‘paid the price’ to get in line early to get a good seat: lower level, center section, well forward.

The lights dim, and the M.C. invites top producing distributors to join him on the stage. A respectful hush sweeps over the crowd as their heroes mass on stage. When the gathering is complete ,the M.C. begins to recite the legendary business accomplishments of the evening’s keynote speaker/distributor. He barely has an opportunity to finish his introduction, as the crowd comes to their feet and begins to chant the name of the keynote speaker, now entering from stage left to deafening applause and an ear-numbing rendition of the theme song from "Rocky".

This phenomenon, so carefully orchestrated and meticulously planned, seems spontaneous to the MLM masses. From this point forward, it really doesn’t matter what the speaker says that may help the seeking crowd to build their struggling businesses—he has already won their hearts.

This, in the world of MLM, is the crowning moment of a months-long process, executed in thousands of small group meetings, called ‘edification’. Edification in MLM is the process of describing another person, usually a MLM leader, in terms that are designed to have a distributor place his unquestioning trust in the upline leader. When an MLM leader is properly ‘edified’ to his downline, they can do no wrong. Their motives and methods are never questioned. Whatever they say—on any topic—is taken as truth.

There is much ritual surrounding the practice of edification. For example, there are degrees of edification, depending on the business level of the person being edified. And, there are even prescribed ways to edify lower level leaders, who, for some reason, are out of favor with the top leadership.

Edification is a powerful tool for the god of MLM, and he uses it skillfully on new distributors. A new distributor, coming into an MLM program, usually knows only the person who introduced him to the MLM program. Initially, he is totally dependent on his mentor’s opinion of others as the basis for his own decisions on who and how much to trust. The edification process practiced in MLM virtually guarantees that the only input he receives on the leadership is positive. And, sadly, it results in unquestioning acceptance of the MLM leadership’s counsel on everything from finances to faith—often to the exclusion of outside input from the Word of God.

How God Views MLM Edification

God has a less elegant term for the MLM-style ‘edification’ described above—He calls it idol-worship. Idol worship, simply defined, is giving anything or anybody the praise or position in your heart that belongs exclusively to a jealous God. Even the MLM leadership has addressed this issue in their training materials, cautioning MLM devotees to ‘edify—not deify—the upline leadership’. Let’s look at some of the issues implicit in the practice of MLM edification—and put them under the spotlight of God’s Word.

Man-Worship is nothing new

MLM leaders didn’t invent ‘edification’, they simply took advantage of fallen man’s perverted tendency to prefer an object of worship that can be seen, made or tuched.

The Bible records dozens of instances of men worshipping men, gods handmade from various materials and even animals. Here are a few examples man’s sad attempt to worship fallen man.

Ac 12:22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

Ac 14:11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.

Ac 28:6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

How God sees man

As stated earlier, the natural result of MLM edification is a glorification of another human being and an ever-increasing dependence on an MLM leader’s input—often to the exclusion of other inputs. We do well to examine what God says about human glory, human frailty and human knowledge.

MANS GLORY IS TEMPORARY

Ps 49:17 For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.

Isa 5:14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

1Pe 1:24 ś For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

MAN IS FRAIL

Ps 38:10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.

Ps 49:12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

Ps 78:39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.

Ps 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.

Ps 141:7 Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.

Isa 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:

Isa 64:6 ś But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
MAN’S KNOWLEDGE IS FOOLISH

Isa 44:25 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

1Co 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

1Co 13:8 ś Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
God’s Warnings concerning Man-Worship

Ps 118:9 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.

Ps 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

Isa 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?

Isa 31:1 ś Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!

Isa 31:3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together.

Isa 36:6 Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him.

Jer 17:5 ś Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Joh 5:44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

God Alone Deserves Our Worship

1Ch 29:11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Re 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Re 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Ps 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Ps 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Ps 57:5 Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

Ps 71:8 Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy honour all the day.

Ps 145:5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

Isa 25:1 ś O LORD, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

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