Money

On the Huron Valley Fellowship blog today, I wrote about Jesus' instructions about money, in Matthew Chapter 25.

Basically, our Lord teaches us that we must go out and expand the money, and other resources, that He has given us. So the question is, does membership in a Multi-Level Marketing program count as good stewardship of our God-given financial means?

Is the Kingdom of God multi-level?

Jesus did start out with a core group of 12 followers. And among those twelve, there was an inner circle of three (Peter, John, James). The Twelve were directed to go out and build the kingdom. Jesus gave them a model of working with people one at a time, serving them, looking for needs to fill. He healed others. He gave those needing some attention, all of His.

I am struck, that the MLM that I am in now, does in fact use a 3-12 model. That is, you first build an inner core of 3 people, and then expand to 12. The program encourages the duplication of the 3-12 system, which kicks in the bonuses, which get greater, the larger your overall team is.

If you build an MLM, not worrying about such things as "it will topple of its own weight some day," but just move it forward, doing 3 and then 12, over and over again, then it should just continue to grow. It says in the Old Testament, I believe in Ezekiel, that there are multitudes in the world, that cannot make decisions. A multitude is a group that grows faster than we can keep up with it. The pool of people that cannot decide, will always be great enough for us to get our 3 and 12.

But interestingly, my present program also uses a ten-point system, in terms of how much product to buy to qualify for bonuses. There are Ten Commandments in the Bible.

So I find some interesting parallels between my present system, and how Christ is building His Kingdom. The 3 and 12 is a good way to build a team of people. And in another post, perhaps I will find some additional applications of the concept.

MLMs do not guarantee income. But no business or investment program ever does. A good MLM will show you the steps to take, to make your money grow. Businesses and investments do not do that. There is more risk in conventional business, than there is in an MLM. I know that if I do X, Y, and Z, in a good MLM, that I will make money, and I know how much money I will make. This may be true in other jobs, but in those cases I am subject to being laid off if I do not perform to my manager's expectations. I am still working for someone else. The MLM affords me the opportunity to do all the work, totally for God.

So, I find that an MLM is a smart thing to mix into all of our money-management decisions.

But the 3 and 12 intrigues me. I will need to cogitate on that some more!