GOD'S VIEW ON GET- RICH-QUICK- SCHEMES

By Rev Michael Benson Ajayi 

    "One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord . But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” 2 Kings 4:1‭-‬7 NLT

    The lord shows us how businesses are built . In the above scripture , the widow took loans in the form of containers , secondly there was a product ( the oil) with the potentials of being replenished through a production or manufacturing process -  in this case the lord manufactured the oil through his servant -the prophet. 

    Thirdly ,  the marketing of the product ( goods or legitimate  services ) and the proceeds used to paying the debts little by little and reinvested .

    Modern business techniques includes,  brokerages, sales of shares, stocks and bonds , rents , forex , cryptocurrency  etc. The definition of 'product' is more divers . There is also networking business and ponzi or contributory schemes where profits are from sales and monies contributed by new members with no refund policies or performance bonds   . However whenever the amount due for payment of participants as bonuses exceeds amount from sales and new registrations , the law of diminishing returns sets in with catastrophic consequences. 

   These businesses generate some type of profits. However , the morality behind the business should determine whether a disciple of Jesus Christ should participates or not . Knowingly inviting persons to a business that is prone to failure  resulting in painful losses that sometimes results in loss of lives is against God's will . It brings shame to the name of the lord and hinders the spread of the gospel. 

   God does not support get-rich-quick schemes .They do more harm than good to the church of Christ. God wants us to be creative , productive , contented and in pursuits of righteousness.

  The widow in 2Kings4:  was engaged in consumer products business and prospered over time . It was not a get- rich- quick scheme.. It may interest you to know that it took four hundred and thirty years of hard work in Egypt (Africa) before they were given the dividends of their labour

  "The trustworthy person will get a rich reward, but a person who wants quick riches will get into trouble." Proverbs 28:20 NLT and " Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

" Proverbs 28:22 NLT also "..the crooked will be suddenly destroyed." Proverbs 28:18 NLT

Prayer; Heavenly Father , forgive me of my sins against you I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation I receive him as lord and savior and receive the Holy Spirit and wisdom for excellence  .

+2348035536911 +2348098536911 email michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com