Chain Letters
Chain
Prayers
Here's
one I received recently: "We all need friends to pray for
us!!! When you receive this, say the prayer. That's all you
have to do. There is nothing attached. This is powerful.
Just send this to four people and do not break this, please.
Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. (general prayer
follows). . . Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will
bless you both. Passing this on to one not considered a friend
is something Christ would do."
Let's
examine this more closely. What is prayer? It is two-way
communication between ourselves and God. Prayer has several
parts: praise, petitions & questions, and intercession. It
is very true that intercession is powerful. However, I have my
doubts that repeating a generalized prayer has that power. The
power comes in prayer being specific and consistent. Jesus
always prayed that way. His made very specific requests for
both His current disciples and those yet to come AND for Himself.
The kind of praying encouraged here is neither specific nor
consistent. It takes but a moment of our time and no effort of
thought. When I pray for a friend, I pray for specific needs.
When I pray for missions efforts, I pray for specific needs.
Coming
face to face with God Almighty, either in our own behalf or the
behalf of others, is not easy, not light, and requires something
from the depth of our souls. What I find unfortunate here is
that once we have taken a minute to pray this prayer, then another
to forward it, we may begin to feel like we have done something very
spiritual and helpful. Perhaps we need to re-read James 5:16:
"Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another,
that ye may be healed. The effective fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much." I really can't see the
fervency in such general prayers, hence, I am doubtful of its being
very powerful.
Genuine
fervent prayer should cost us something. It should take
something of ourselves, our time, our concentration. King
David wouldn't offer up to God something that cost him nothing -
maybe we shouldn't either. I've an idea that "something
which costs me nothing is worth exactly that."
Regarding the end
statement: Would Jesus REALLY pass along general prayers
someone else had written to lots of people?
Inspirational
Chain Letters
There
are different types of chain letters:
There
is nothing whatsoever wrong with inspirational stories (as long as
they are true), pithy sayings, sentimental poetry or prose. If
you think someone would enjoy it, or be blessed by it, by all means,
send it along! However, you might want to make sure that the
person you are sending it to DOES enjoy such things. The
sentimental stuff is usually way too syrupy for my tastes.
Don't forward it to your whole list or ten people, or whatever the
message says to do.
The
ones that tell you to pass it along as a test of your love for God,
are, I believe, terribly dishonest. Here is one example:
"Celebrate Jesus in 2000: Just trying to get the Word
passed along. . . . Praise the Lord. . .. If you aren't ashamed to
do this, please follow the directions. Jesus said, "If
you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my
Father," Not ashamed, pass this on. . . only if you mean
it. Yes I do Love God. . . . . (some words about who God is to
the writer). .. This is the simplest test. . . if you Love
God, and are not ashamed of all the marvelous things He has done for
you, send this to ten people and the person who sent it to you!
Remember Only send this if you Believe."
Another
one along the same lines:
"This is a test! An easy one. You score 100 or
zero. It's your choice. If you aren't ashamed to do
this, please follow the directions. Jesus said, 'if you are
ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father.' If
you are not ashamed pass this on...only if you mean it. . . . . .
This is the simplest test - if you love God, and are not ashamed of
all the marvelous things he has done for you, send this to ten
people and the person who sent it to you!"
And
yet another sample:
"I don't think I know 10 people who would admit they love
Jesus. Do you love Him? Here's a simple test: If you
love Jesus, send this to at least 10 people, including the person
who sent it to you." Pictures or poems are included.
First,
notice how scripture is being ripped from its context in the first
two examples. I'm sure that our Lord DID NOT have in mind that
a person who refuses to forward chain email is ashamed of Him.
What does constitute being ashamed of Christ is not taking a stand
before our world (even in the face of persecution) and being afraid
to share Him with a lost and dying world.
Second,
forwarding email is not a test of our relationship to, or love for
Christ. The real test comes in our daily living, our conduct
in our daily encounters and the time we vest in our relationship
with Him. I know people who are not "walking the
talk" who would be happy to push a forward button to make
themselves feel like they have done something really special for
Christ. Christ Himself said that the test of our love for Him
is keeping His commands. He really only gave three: Love
God with all your heart, mind and strength; love your neighbor as
yourself; and go into all the world and make disciples. Are we
meeting the tests He gave?
Third:
This is not a good witness. Sometimes God gives us one time
opportunities to share with another person. Most of the time
He gives us ongoing relationships THROUGH which we share the love
and mercy of Christ by both our daily lives and our speech.
Relationship building is important because then people can see God
working within us, freeing us from sin. Messages like these can
have the opposite effect on an unbeliever. It makes us seem
foolish for believing that forwarding an email will prove our love
for God.
Fourth:
I'm afraid that many people who would be glad to push a forward
button couldn't tell you what Jesus has done in their lives in the
past week, much less the past year. It's so easy to forward an
email. It doesn't cost me anything (and that's about what it's
worth). True witnessing, true obedience and true love for the
Body will definitely cost us something.
Fifth:
The second example talks about the marvelous things God has done for
us, yet it urges us to send a generic message without giving an
account of His marvelous deeds. Is this the "sacrifice of
praise" talked about in the Word? Why not recount the
great things God is doing in your life and has done in the past, and
send it on to ten or more people? Now's that's something
great!
Sixth:
I feel sorry for the person who concocted the third example.
If they don't know 10 people who love Jesus, perhaps they need to
get involved with the Body of Christ in their own community! I
know hundreds of people who love Jesus (they show it by their
actions) and I meet to worship with them a couple of times a week.
Notice
the guilt motivation used to get people to pass it on. How is
this any different from luck letters?
I must
mention the funny lines , "remember only send this if you
believe," and "only if you mean it." Who
else WOULD send it on? What would happen if someone who didn't
believe passed it on?
Illegal
Chain Letters
Please
do not respond to any message that asks you to mail money to people
on a list and add your name to that list. This is an illegal
scheme. Here is the USPS list of mail fraud:
http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/fraudsch.htm
You
should report any such activity. A good place to go for
reporting activity is: http://www.scambusters.org/scamlinks.html
Good/Bad
Luck Chain Letters
These
letters claim that you will have good luck if you continue the chain
and bad luck if you do not. Various stories of people who
continued the chain and those who broke it are usually included.
It's
hard to believe that adults actually believe in this stuff, but they
do. I guess in a society that spends umpteen dollars on
phone(Y) psychics that this shouldn't surprise me. However, no
Christian should ever buy into this. As Christians, we believe
in the providence and omnipotence of God. I know that God uses
the circumstances of my life to speak to me, to change me, to make
me a stronger and better person. If the thing happening to me
is something that I think is bad, that thing is a growth
opportunity. Sometimes things we think are bad, may actually
be really good.
However, if a person believes in such things, they will chalk up
certain experiences to bad luck. Instead of seeing situations
and circumstances as they really are, they will see them
through the filter of your belief system in luck. If the
person chooses not to send the chain letter on, their belief system
will be the determining factor in whether circumstances that follow
are a matter of luck. There is such a thing as a
self-fulfilling prophecy.
In
reality, these sorts of letters are a test of our own belief
systems. If a person believes that God is the author and
keeper of their life, circumstances will seem entirely different.
Entrusting ourselves into the hands of our loving Father is sure and
secure and completely eliminates the concept of luck.
