My answering machine was beeping as I entered the door of our home telling me that there was a message.  I pushed the 'new call' button.

A close Christian friend of mine passionately said, "Jay, would you like to get rich???!!! Would you like to get really rich in just a few weeks???!!!!  Richer than you thought you ever could???!!!  If so be at my house tomorrow morning at 9 am for a meeting!!!"

Immediately, my previous experiences with multi-level marketing jumped into my mind and my heart leaped and then quickly sank in the dread of what was to come with my return phone call.  I had, a little over a year ago, lost several hundred dollars in a MLM scam.

Calling him back, I asked, "Joe, what's this all about?"

"Do you want to get rich in a short time?" he repeated again, while I wondered if a taped message was playing over and over in his head.

"I'm already rich, Joe."  I said, trying to remind him of our Christian bond.

"No, really," he said, "I'm serious.  If you want to make a lot of money fast, come to a meeting we're having here at 9 am tomorrow."

"Is this multi-level marketing, Joe?"  I wanted to know.

"No, this is different, you make money selling phone services and internet access and other things." and thereupon we got into a discussion comparing my phone rates and internet access fees to those offered by this company.

"I'm sorry, Joe, I have to work tomorrow."  I said, silently thanking God I was scheduled to work all day the next day.  "Besides," I said, "before I ever listen to any more of these get-rich-quick pitches I would have to do a lot of checking out of the company, its founder and a lot of other things."

I also told him of my experiences of over a year ago and the money I had lost.  My brother had talked me into joining this company where people were getting fantastic returns on their money and because he had done me several favors in the past, I had felt especially obligated to join.  I had never felt comfortable approaching any of my friends at church about it, however, and over and over again I thanked God I had never pressured any one into joining or they would have lost everything they invested when the company folded shortly after the Attorney General of the State of Ohio filed suit against them.  Several people I knew had lost tens of thousands of dollars.

Before I became a Christian I used to be a successful "high-pressure" salesman who had the reputation of never taking "no" for an answer.  In the company where I had worked, everybody had always joked that I held a gun to people's heads to make a sale.  I'm not perfect yet by any means, but after I met Christ, He took it out of me to pressure people into buying something or into anything they didn't really want, even the gospel.  I decided
I wasn't going to be a "high-pressure" salesman for Christ either.  If a person didn't see Christ as Someone they wanted or needed in their life on the evidence provided, then I wasn't going to hold a gun to their heads to get them to accept Him because their heart and soul would still be beholden somewhere else.

Joe replied, "This company is different, Johnny Bench is into it and so are a couple of other well-known people who left jobs making about a million dollars a month to start this company.  Besides that, AT&T offered the owners $50 million for the company and it's only seven weeks old."

"Well,"  I said, "That's interesting, but I would still want to check it out thoroughly, and I'd advise you to do the same."

"If you can't come tomorrow, then why don't you come Sunday evening--we're having another meeting then." He said.

"We'll see, but I'm not making any promises." I countered, wondering if he had heard anything I had said.

My wife, Jane, who had heard the answering machine message and bits and pieces of our conversation wanted to know what it was all about.  After telling her most of what he had said and stating my belief that it was a MLM company, she asked if I would mind if she went tomorrow to the meeting to see what it was all about.

"I don't mind so long as that's all you do is listen and don't sign up or give them any money before we discuss it and check out the company thoroughly."  I said a little apprehensively.

"Okay." she said.

The next evening I came home from work and Jane and I had a quieter than usual dinner together.  Afterwards, I asked her to tell me about the meeting.

"They're having another meeting Sunday evening, why don't you plan on going?" she replied.

"I thought I made it clear that I wouldn't do anything until I checked out the company thoroughly?"  I said.  "What's the name of the company?" I asked.

"I'm really not sure, why don't you ask Joe?" she said.

Starting to get irritated and suspicious at her evasiveness I asked her pointedly: "You didn't sign up with them did you?"

Receiving no answer but an embarrassed look, my heart sank even further realizing that she had probably swallowed the bait--hook, line and sinker.  "How much did you give them?"  I asked.

After several moments of ominous silence, she finally said, swallowing hard,  "around three hundred dollars."

"How could you do that?" I said, raising my voice, "especially after agreeing not to do anything until we discussed it and checked it out and, not to mention, your knowing my experience last year in MLM."

"Well, you lost that money, so I thought I ought to be able to try something too, and besides if you're going to get upset I don't have to listen to this" she insisted as she got up and went into the bedroom.

"I know I lost that money and it has bothered me a great deal for some time, besides I discussed it with you quite a bit before I went into it and you had no objections at the time." I said calling after her.

One word led to another and unfortunately a short time later my wife took some clothes with her and moved out of the house. Shortly thereafter, I got on the phone to Joe.

When he answered the phone I told him, "Joe, if your wife came to my house to listen to a sales pitch, and I had the day before heard you tell me how you had recently lost money in a company which you thought was similar to this, I would have told her to go home and discuss it with you before putting any money into it.  Joe, you're supposed to be my friend and I'd just like you to know that my wife just moved out."

"You can't blame me for that, I tried to tell her to discuss it with you, but she wanted to go ahead anyhow, besides MY wife wouldn't do that without talking to me first." he replied.

"Well, whether your wife is more loyal or a better wife than mine is not the point, the point is, SINCE YOU'RE MY FRIEND, if she HAD wanted to go ahead, I would have insisted that your wife go and discuss it with you first."  I countered, and then asked, "This is a multi-level marketing company isn't it, Joe?"

"Well...uh....yes, but it's not a pyramid." he said.

"What the name of the company?" I wanted to know.

"Uh.....let's see.....uh......Fortune something......I can't remember the rest."  he said.

My patience was beginning to wear thin, "Joe, I don't understand how you, as a Christian can call up anyone, especially another Christian and a friend to boot, and use money and riches as an enticement to join something you really know very little about and have even less experience with, all in order to make some money!"  I said.

"Well...uh...we've been having some financial difficulties lately." he responded.

"I know you have, but is that an excuse to prey upon friends?  Besides being in financial difficulty seems to me, all the more reason, not to rush into a hasty investment, especially knowing that in our church we're counseled not to get involved in such investments." I added.

After more discussions, Joe said to me, "I really appreciate your counsel, Jay.  I'm really glad we had this talk.  I love you, brother.  Since we have three days to cancel this sales contract I'm going to cancel it tomorrow and I'll give your wife's money back and that will give us time to check it all out. That's what you want me to do, don't you?

"I want you to do the right thing, Joe, because I love you, too." I said, thinking if I tell him he should give Jean's money back, he might do it and tell her I told him to, and thinking also that his knowing that money received which was a violation of a husband and wife's trust should be quite enough incentive for a Christian brother to insist on canceling a sales contract.  "I hope your decision is a wise one." I said to myself as I hung up.

The next day when I returned home there was the familiar beckoning of my answering machine.  It was not a message from Joe, but from Joe's wife saying they had checked with the attorney general's office and someplace else and there were no complaints against the company or the owners.  There was no mention of canceling any contracts, giving any money back or anything else: that was it, just that there were no complaints against this seven week old company and I guess that was good enough for them.  And, I guess, that was more important than maintaining my friendship as I haven't heard from Joe since.

When that green-eyed monster gets people in its clutches, you sure find out in a hurry who your friends are and who really loves you.
 

"A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent.... He that hastens to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him." Proverbs 28:20,22

"They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6: 9,10.

Related Articles:

Salesperson of Sin

The 10 Big Lies of Multi-Level Marketing

Consumer Alert
 
 

But such, I was shown, must learn by the things they suffer to let patent rights and these various enterprises alone. They should not allow even their brethren to flatter them to entangle themselves in such enterprises, for their anticipations will not be realized, and then they will be thrown upon the enemy's battlefield unarmed for the conflict. Means which should be put into the treasury of God to advance His cause is worse than lost by being invested in some of these modern improvements. If any who profess the truth feel at liberty to engage, and capable of engaging, in these patent rights and inventions, they should not go among their brethren  and make that their field of operation, but go among unbelievers. Let not your name and  profession as an Adventist decoy your brethren who wish to consecrate their means to God. But go out into the world, and let that class invest their means who care not for the advancement of the cause of God.  ~ 1Testimony,  page 304.
 

Satan is constantly presenting inducements to God's chosen people to attract their minds from the solemn work of preparation for the scenes just in the future. He is in every sense of the word a deceiver, a skillful charmer. He clothes his plans and snares with coverings of light borrowed from heaven. He tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit by making her believe that she would be greatly advantaged thereby. Satan leads his agents to introduce various inventions and patent rights and other enterprises, that Sabbathkeeping Adventists who are in haste to be rich may fall into temptation, become ensnared, and pierce themselves through with many sorrows. He is wide awake, busily engaged in leading the world captive, and through the agency of worldlings he keeps up a continual pleasing excitement to draw the unwary who profess to believe the truth to unite with worldlings. The lust of the eye, the desire for excitement and pleasing entertainment, is a temptation and snare to God's people. Satan has many finely woven, dangerous nets which are made to appear innocent, but with which he is skillfully preparing to infatuate God's people. There are pleasing shows, entertainments, phrenological lectures, and an endless variety of enterprises constantly arising calculated to lead the people of God to love the world and the things that are in the world. Through this union with the world, faith becomes weakened, and means which should be invested in the cause of present truth are transferred to the enemy's ranks. Through these different channels Satan is skillfully draining the purses of God's people and for it the displeasure of the Lord is upon them. ~ 1Testimony,  pages 550, 551.