Why MLMs (Multi-Level Marketing) May not Be the Best Business for Christians

MLMs… What Are They?

In the year 2025, few people can still claim the honorary badge of having never been blind-sided by a sneaky sales pitch from a friend. This badge is so elusive, in large part, because of the rise of MLMs.

MLM is an acronym used to refer to a company that engages in Multi-level marketing. This marketing strategy is also known by the names “network marketing” and “pyramid selling.”

I’ll let Wikipedia provide us with a concise explanation of how exactly multi-level marketing works:

In multi-level marketing, the compensation plan usually pays out to participants from two potential revenue streams. The first is based on a sales commission from directly selling the product or service; the second is paid out from commissions based upon the wholesale purchases made by other sellers whom the participant has recruited to also sell product. (Wikipedia)

In other words, the participants that sign up to work for these companies get paid by either selling the company’s products or by recruiting others to become salespeople.

Participants typically launch their sales efforts by introducing their friends and family to their company’s products, recruiting anyone interested, and then reaching out to more distant circles of acquaintances in various ways.  

The more product a participant can sell and the more new salespeople they can recruit, the more money they make.

Some popular MLM marketing companies are Amway, Herbalife, Modere, Young Living, DoTerra, and Optavia.

Let’s Be Clear… There is Nothing Immediately Wrong with MLMs… But There are Dangers

In full disclosure, my wife and I used to work for a few of these companies. We made good money, and the money we made helped us launch the independent companies we own today.

So, I’m not here to bash on people who are involved in MLMs. There is nothing inherently wrong with them. There are many ethical people who work within their structures. I get it, times are tough, and cash is tight. We are all looking to make some extra money where we can.

That said, I do want to warn people about some ways I’ve personally seen MLMs harm Christian influence.  

Do You Actually Care About Me or Are You Just Recruiting Me?

As Christians, we want our interactions with people to be genuine. We want them to know we care about them, their wellbeing, and their souls.

In contrast, the marketing style pushed within many MLMs leaves people with the opposite impression. It is very common for leaders within MLMs to coach their salespeople to reach out to acquaintances with friendly messages, to engage them in conversation about their lives, but to do so with the intent of eventually selling them on the company’s products or vision.

If the friendly conversation doesn’t end in a sale or a recruitment, the salesperson usually stops engaging, and their supposed interest in their acquaintance’s life evaporates, leaving the acquaintance with a bad taste in their mouth, as if they’ve been used.

It’s not pleasant when someone engages you as if they want to be your friend, only to leave you lonely again when they don’t get what they want out of you.

This behavior is all too common amongst MLM participants. Unfortunately, even kind people get tricked into doing it by their mentors within the company (who are making money off them). This is not only bad business practice, but its bad Christian practice. It’s cringy!

I know many Christians who are skeptical of other Christians within their own churches, because they aren’t clear on whether the other is being genuinely kind to them or if they are just trying to use them to further their MLM ambitions.

MLM participants also need to be very careful not to damage the perception of the Church held by outsiders. The last thing we want is for non-Christians to view believers as people who are only kind to them because they are trying to sell them something. If your integrity is perceived to have been compromised by your participation in an MLM, you may scare people away from being “recruited” into the Kingdom of God.

Your Personal Reputation is Associated with Bad Company

You may be the most ethical MLM salesperson on earth (if so, I commend you), but that doesn’t mean your reputation is safe from tarnish.

It is my opinion that the MLM marketing model is an ideal breeding ground for less-than-ethical business practice. In many companies the motto is “sell and recruit first, then worry about the ethics.”

A quick search online will reveal that I’m not the only one who feels this way, and this marketing model has been steadily building a questionable reputation for itself.

I know many people who immediately turn their noses up when they discover that one of their friends or colleagues has joined an MLM. They become immediately more suspicious of that person.

MLM is quickly becoming a four-letter-word in the business world.

The MLM space has some dubious characters, a much-criticized business model, and questionable ethics.

I would not want to hitch my character and reputation to this industry, and I would encourage you to do some serious evaluation before hitching yours.

Above all, we want to protect our reputation as followers of Jesus. Sometimes that might mean avoiding certain sectors of the marketplace.   

Conclusion

If you are an ethical Christian MLM participant, I applaud you! I would like to repeat that this article is not meant to condemn those associated with MLMs, but I do hope it gives Christians pause before joining. There are dangers that need to be considered.

Your reputation is one of the most valuable things you possess. Don’t compromise it for a few extra dollars.

We will not sacrifice our reputation on the altar of sales. If need be, we will sacrifice sales on the altar of reputation.