The Numbers Game

Mary Ann Collins
(A Former Catholic Nun)

February 2002

People tend to be impressed with size. "Bigger" and "better" often go together in advertising slogans. But is this how God sees things? Can we assume that the Catholic Church must be right because it is so big?

Goliath was huge, powerful, and a seasoned warrior. He was admired by the Philistines and feared by the Israelites. People were impressed with Goliath, but God wasn't. God used a shepherd named David to kill the giant. (1 Samuel 17:1-54)

When Gideon fought the Midianites, he started out with 32,000 men. That sounds like an impressive number until you read that the Midianite soldiers were a multitude which filled the valley like a plague of locusts. But God told Gideon that he had too many men, and he was to send home every man who was afraid. Two-thirds of his men left (22,000 out of 32,000). Then God disqualified all but 300 of the 10,000 men who remained. That left Gideon with one percent of his original soldiers. (Judges 7:1-9)

In God's eyes, which group were the true hearted soldiers through whom He could do miracles? The 31,700? Or the 300 who defeated the Midianites? If you read what happened, you will see that God was with the one percent.

Could the difference be even greater than a hundred to one and still have God be with the minority? Well, what if the 31,700 had decided that because the 300 were different, they must be "heretics" and therefore they should be killed?

Jesus spoke about a large crowd of people which goes the wrong way, to its destruction, and a small group of people who finds the right way, which leads to life. He said,

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

If you look at the context in which Jesus said this, He was speaking to the multitudes in Israel. These were not pagans who served horrible demon "gods". They were God's chosen people, in covenant with Him, the people who had the Scriptures, the people to whom God had sent the prophets. And Jesus warned them that there was a broad, popular way, which most people would choose, that would lead to destruction.

Jesus spoke of Godly people who would be despised, and false people who would be widely accepted. He said,

"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)

"Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! For so did their fathers to the false prophets." (Luke 6:26)

Obviously, being part of a small minority that is spoken against does not necessarily make people right. David Koresh and Jim Jones were dead wrong.

My point is that you cannot use numbers to decide whether or not people are right. We need to measure their teachings against Scripture. Our plumb line is the Bible, not the calculator.

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Copyright 2002 by Mary Ann Collins. All rights reserved.

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