“It’s deceptive because people think they’re talking to a regular person when they’re really talking to a shill, …that’s the whole point, that shills have to disclose that they’re shills. ”—Gary Ruskin—Researcher
WHAT IS A SHILL? Based on the quote above, it seems like something or someone we wouldn’t want to be. Shill is a word you’d generally see or hear in politics or advertising. A SHILL is a person who pretends to give an impartial endorsement of something in which they themselves have no interest. You’ve seen celebrities sell things you couldn’t imagine them ever using.Another definition of SHILL is an accomplice of a hawker, gambler, or swindler who acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others. In the old days a swindler trying to pawn off a magical miracle elixir would sometimes have a sidekick with a “testimony” of the potion’s effectiveness. That person was a shill. The verb form of this word means to act or work as a shill, endorsing something or someone that you don’t support or of whom you don’t approve.
Did you there are religious shills?There are preachers and leaders who don’t consider Jesus Christ the Savior of the world, nor do they consider ministry a true calling. Maybe they’re doing it for the money, or because they experience perks, or like to use their mouths to get attention. There are even parodies and satirical movies like Honk for Jesus Save Your Soul and Fake Preacher to illustrate this phenomenon. I’ve not seen either of these films, but this is not new. In Philippians 1 Paul had been imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, yet he knew there were some shills, or what we’d these days call posers. He said, “15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.” I want to be…and want to be around people who are authentic about what and whom they represent—Jesus. I’m not big fan of faking the funk or shilling about championing people, places, or things with which I do not agree. Sometimes I find myself being asked to do so, but I don’t want to, and I pray not to be a shill.
