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The God of the Bible
versus the god of MLM
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Jobs
"Take this job and SHOVE IT—I ain’t working here no more" is the beginning lyric of a once—popular country song by Johnny Paycheck. This song, resonant with a spirit of bitter rebellion, is the battle cry of the MLM training system that promises permanent wealth with a part-time effort. Jobs are characterized as an acronym for "Jackass of Boss" or "Just over Broke". People who have jobs are regarded as small—thinking losers destined for a life of voluntary servitude – trapped in a flawed economic system designed to keep them at the mercy of the Fortune 500 elite. Work is important to God –and the Bible has much to say on the subject. The Bible is silent on the issue of self-employment vs. jobs —no where do we find God lifting up or favoring either employment or business ownership as a type of work. Rather, the Word of God says in Proverbs 14:23 that " In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury". The attitude of God towards all work(labour) can be summarized in five points.
Let’s examine each of these points in some detail to learn what God has to say about work. Work is commanded The first work recorded in God’s Word, aside from that performed by the Creator Himself, is the job that God gave Adam in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 2:15 the Bible says: "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it." Not long thereafter God broadened Adam’s responsibility to include naming all the birds and animals. It undoubtedly was pleasant and interesting work—but sadly it was short lived. In Genesis 3 the Bible records the fall of man—and the curse of God upon Adam and Eve for their sin. It is here that we find that God’s judgment included changing the nature of man’s labour. In Genesis 3:17-19 we read: "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Not only does God clearly show us that we are commanded to labour, He spells out the consequences of disobedience. In Proverbs 21:25 the LORD says:"The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour." Work is limited God Himself chose to create the heaven and the earth in six days—and rested on the seventh day. In Genesis 2: 2-3 the Word of God says: " And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made ; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day , and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." In the book of Exodus, the Bible records the first instance of God commanding the concept of a sabbath to mankind. During the 40 year journey of the nation of Israel through the wilderness, the children of Israel began to murmur against God –complaining of hunger. God responds by speaking to Moses, instructing him on how the people were to collect the manna (bread) that He would send from heaven. In Exodus 16:5 we read: "And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily." The reason for this is made plain later in Exodus. The people of Israel had completed the gathering on the sixth day as God had commanded, and the rulers of the congregation of Israel came and reported this to Moses. Then, Moses reveals the purpose of gathering the double portion in Exodus16:23: " And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning." Later, some of the people, not believing God ,went out on the sabbath to gather manna and found none. God rebukes the people speaking to Moses in Exodus 16:29: "See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." The oral commandment of keeping the seventh day holy was committed to writing by the very finger of the LORD Himself—part of the Mosaic Covenant given to the nation of Israel through Moses. Exodus 20:8-11 records God’s first written instruction on keeping the seventh day holy: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day , and hallowed it." Work must be performed in a certain way The multi-level marketing training system implies that God favors business ownership over employment. Although employment (having a job) was certainly practiced during Bible days, there is nothing in God’s Word that would suggest that the Lord favors one form of income generation over another. Rather, God is vitally concerned with the heart attitude that accompanies the work.
Some insight can be gotten by looking at The Book of Proverbs. In Proverbs 13:11 God says: "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase".
In this verse the word vanity means foolishness—while the word labour is more accurately rendered as "labour with the hand" in the original Hebrew. In Proverbs 14:23 God says: "In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury".In these two verses, it would seem that the LORD makes no distinction in the kind of labor—but instead focuses on the rewards that come from actually doing labor instead of just talking about it. Work must be performed with a right motive. Work that is properly performed and correctly motivated within God’s time frame will be blessed of God.
Here is an overview of some heart attitudes that God expects from His children who labour in employment. Fidelity "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart ,fearing God:" (Colossians 3:22) Obedience "Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;"(Ephesians 6:5) Respect " Let as many servants that are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed."(1Timothy 6:1) Desire to please "Exhort servants to be obedient to their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; (Titus2:9) Patience "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward."(1 Peter 2:18)
Contact Information:To start an online Bible Study,go to: http://www.lvbaptist.org/biblest/0717frac.htm
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