RELIGIOUS leaders and the laity have dismissed the culture of chain letters as ungodly and a practice that smacks of sacrilege. Of late, the social media has been awash with chain letters or messages that ask “believers” to respond with an “Amen” or “I receive” as a show of their love for Jesus Christ or as a condition to receive blessings, be it marital, financial or even the gift of children.
The letters, as per dictate, are to be resent to a number of recipients failing which the blessing will not come by or the would-be forwarder would face some cosmic punishment.
Archbishop Mark Kambalazaza, head and founder of the Charismatic Redeemed Ministries International, advised Christians not to believe in such chain letters, saying coercive chain mails are not of God.
“No one can become a millionaire because of an SMS or Whatsapp message; otherwise all people having phones would have been rich by now. I don’t believe in these chain messages, it is never true but simply unbiblical, unchristian and threatens weak minds. It is magical and witchcraft fleeces in nature. That is against the word of faith.
Don’t waste time with them,” he said. Kambalazaza further said other than getting addicted and wasting time on circulating chain letters, Christians should instead take up the habit of sharing the word of God through the social media. “My advice is that you can send to your neighbour or friend [ a chain letter or post] if it contains the biblical truth.
But don’t believe in the lie, if it does not have biblical truth, delete it and forget about it. Fear only God and not messages; even when the Gospel was given, it was with freedom not threats,” he added. A member of the Christian community, John Chawinga, said it was imperative that Christians ignore chain letters and instead concentrate on praying for divine intervention on their financial and health well-being.
“Those who circulate them [chain letter and messages] capitalise on the economic challenges and ill-health of the people and assume godly powers. I deem chain letters as blasphemous to God,” he said. Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi [ECM] of the Catholic Church, the Reverend Father Henry Saindi said chain letters are “superstitious and have no bearing to Christianity.”
“The Catholic Church neither believes nor encourages any of its faithful to be involved in receiving or sending chain letters, SMSs, emails etc.
They [chain letters, SMSs and emails] are deemed superstitious and they give a very wrong picture of God. Such prayers are occult and therefore dangerous; they are not from God,” he said. Father Saindi added that according to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, there is nothing that people could do in order to receive God’s grace.
“By virtue of our Baptism, we are already sons and daughters of God. Therefore, God’s grace is already ours. All we need to do is to ask for them. In fact, in Matthew 7 verse 7-8 Jesus assures us, ‘Ask and it will be given; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives’.
So, to access God’s grace, there are no strings attached, no conditions,” he said, adding that the Christian God never gambles but simply gives because he loves mankind. Bishop Charles Tsukuluza of Revival Life Ministries warned that people should not believe in those chain messages.
“I don’t subscribe to this kind of thinking that by simply typing “Amen” or by sending it to others, a miracle will come. It is a well known fact that many have done so and nothing came their way. Christians should not believe in these things but they must believe the Word of God. When God created man he placed him in the Garden of Eden to work, eat and live [ Genesis 2:15].
In the New Testament, Apostle advised believers of the Church at Ephesus to work with their hands by saying in, Ephesians 4:28,” he said.
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