The Temptation of Numbers
The Temptation of Numbers
Many are attracted by the temptation of numbers—any numbers at all!
They think that success in life depends on quantity.
Thus, some priestly fathers rejoice in the number of those who confess to them, or the number of those who attend church services, rather than the number of true repentant souls among them—and the repentant may be very few indeed!
Likewise, many servants in Christian education rejoice in the number of their students. Many preachers also assume that the measure of their success is the large number of people attending their meetings. Yet many of those listeners in sermons and Christian education classes may not apply anything they hear in their personal spiritual lives.
Success is not measured by numbers, but rather by depth and spirit, and by everything related to the salvation of the soul.
Thus, the important thing is not the number of prostrations one performs each day, but the spiritual manner in which they are done: are they accompanied by a contrite heart and fervent prayer, or not?
And it is not the number of chapters read from the Holy Bible that matters, but rather understanding, contemplation, and application.
What we say about prostrations and Bible reading also applies to fasting. It is not the quantity that matters, but the spirituality of fasting.
External appearances are not the standard by which spiritual works are judged. Numbers are certainly among these external appearances; but the true judgment belongs to the heart and the spirit and their relationship with God.
The temptation of numbers may, in fact, be a battle of the self—the ego that imagines greatness through quantity.
The Lord Jesus Christ focused on a small number of disciples—only twelve, plus seventy others. Yet He could have made thousands of disciples. But the twelve were stronger than thousands, and they remain a lesson for us in focus.
When will the time come when we care more about a few well-formed souls than a large number without depth?
But if both are combined, that is goodness and blessing.
