Physical Rest

The God of the Bible versus the god of MLM

Physical Rest

"Keep on keepin on, keep on doin’it to it" "Five and six nights a week…five and six nights a week" "Do it!..Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! " " You can’t make any money while you’re asleep" "Just double up on your vitamins and you can go all night long" "Don’t worry about sleep—you can sleep when you’re dead" " It’s worth postponing your 8 hours of sleep a night and get only 5 hours a night for 2-5 years so you can sleep ‘till the crack of noon for the rest of your life" "If you don’t have circles under your eyes from staying out late and sharing this great opportunity you’re not serious about your future" "A man makes a living from 9A.M. to 5 P..M. and makes a life from 8:00 P.M. to midnight."

Such are the rantings of the god of MLM as he drives his willing captives from meeting to meeting, night after night, exhaustion to exhaustion, ever dangling the carrot of a rest-filled, carefree future.

In their sleep-deprived state, MLM practitioners are easily programmed to "be a team player" and "stay plugged into the support system"—all of which means additional profits from business support materials(books, tapes, seminars/rallies) for the upline organizers. The ominous, unthinkable alternative to the MLM captive is business failure.

The god of MLM, has, of course, thought through all this, and gives his followers ‘choices’ of business level activity, defining activity levels that a distributorship can be in at any given point in time.

Growth--A distributor who is in ‘growth’ mode is often referred to as a ‘core person’—a leader-in –the –making who attends all the functions without question, buys all the training materials for both himself and his emerging group(even if it exists only on paper), shows the business plan 5-6 times weekly, meets and prospects new people every day, buys and uses 100% of the MLM products for self use, retails the products to others, regularly seeks advice from his ‘growing upline’, and ‘edifies’ or ‘brags up’ his upline at every opportunity. This is the person who will proudly flop open a filled- up calendar book, giving you a tired smile with glazed , raccoon-like eyes. These people are held up as positive examples by the god of MLM—examples of people who will make it to the top. They are often called upon at meetings for a quick testimony of their weekly experiences. Exhaustion is the badge of honor… the ‘stink of battle’ from dealing with ‘negative’ prospects hangs heavily about their person. That is, until they get really tired and move to the next level of business activity called :
Maintenance-a distributor is in "maintenance mode" when certain aspects of their activity level begins to fall off, usually the business plan showings to prospects. Job, family or other personal circumstances are often cited as the reason for the distributor going into ‘maintenance mode’. The god of MLM isn’t pleased with ‘maintenance mode’, but isn’t too concerned since the distributor is typically still buying a full complement of training materials and attending most if not all of the meetings that generate income for the upline organizers. When a distributor is in maintenance mode, they enjoy some respite from the rigors of being a "core" person and begin to recover from the exhaustive demands of the god of MLM. At this point, they have three options: 1) return to the "core person" mode, remain at "maintenance mode" or move to the next level called by the god of MLM as :
Decline or "dying"—a distributor is in decline or "dying" mode when participation in the business training system begins to fall off. The distributor is beginning to get physically restored to the point where he is beginning to "wake up and smell the deception". This is alarming to the upline leadership as they see their former proselyte begin to question the value of the business support system that had left the distributor physically(and often financially) drained. Income to the upline leadership from books, tapes, seminars and rallies begins to decline. As the strengthened distributor begins to share his concerns with other distributors, often helping to wake up others to the true nature of the deception, they are often shunned by the MLM leadership as they enter the fourth and "final" stage, referred to by the god of MLM as the
Stinking stage-this is the point where there is no longer any question in the distributor’s mind that they have been ‘had’ by the god of MLM. For many, this is a stage of closure and a regaining of some normalcy to a pre-MLM lifestyle—hopefully a little wiser and regrettably a lot poorer. This is the stage where distributors try (usually unsuccessfully) to recoup some of their losses by returning unused merchandise and business support materials, chiefly books and tapes. Distributors in the "stinking stage", awakened to the true nature of their former endeavors, are often zealous opponents of the god of MLM to whom they once gave their unquestioned worship. The author has enjoyed this happy state of repose for many years.

What God Says About Physical Rest

Although the Word of God is silent on precisely how much physical rest a person should have, God is quite clear on other issues related to the body, its care and its ownership.

Your Body and soul belong to God

Contrary to popular belief, our bodies don’t belong to us—they belong to The Person Who created them-God Almighty.

De 32:6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

So 2:16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Ro 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

1Co 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

You have personal responsibility for stewardship of your body

Although we don’t own our bodies, God does call us to be wise stewards of our bodies. Any thinking person would do well to ‘consider their ways’ before God in the area of physical rest.

Like the rest of God’s property that we have been given the privilege to steward(our time, treasure and talents), God has a long and consistent track record in His Word of holding us personally accountable for our stewardship of his gifts to us.

De 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

Job 19:4 And be it indeed that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.

Pr 9:12 If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.

Jer 31:30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Eze 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Ro 14:4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Ro 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Ga 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

God sends sweet rest to the Righteous

God loves us and wants us to enjoy the sweet rest that comes after a day of serving Him.

Ps 3:5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.

Ps 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

Ps 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

Pr 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Jer 31:26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

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