Teach Us To Number Our Days

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." - Psalm 90:12

Welcome to Spiritual Mathematics 101. What is Spiritual Mathematics? Simply put, Spiritual Mathematics is the concept of utilizing the basic math principles of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division that we learned during our early school days, and applying those principles to our spiritual growth process.

First, let us consider the basic principle of subtraction. Even small children are taught early in their education to understand basic mathematical equations such as two take away two equals zero. Just as this basic principle is learned early in life, the principle of Christ’s forgiveness should also be learned early in life. Christ “takes away” the sins of those who repent and believe on Him. We could represent this with the simple mathematical equation: Repentance - Sin = Forgiveness. In 1 John 3:5 we read these words, “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”

Let us next consider the basic principle of division. In Isaiah 53:12 we read, “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Christ is our perfect exemplar. He gave Himself for us, dividing a portion with the great. As His disciples we are to follow His example. In 1 John 2:6 we read, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” We should be willing to divide our time, talents, and treasure to do the work our Heavenly Father has given us to do.

Next, let us consider the basic principle of addition. We would all agree that the way to increase the amount of that which we have is to add to that which we have. For example, if a child has an apple and his friend gives him another apple, he now has one more apple than he originally started with or two apples. We are to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by adding to, or increasing in, the fruits and virtues of the Spirit. In 2 Peter 1:5-7 we are taught, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” We begin with faith and we end with love. Expressed as a simple mathematical equation we have: Faith + Virtue + Knowledge + Temperance + Patience + Godliness + Brotherly Kindness + Charity = Growth in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Adding these fruits of the Spirit to our lives will help to settle, establish, and strengthen us as Christians.

Finally, let us consider the basic principle of multiplication. Some people seem to have great difficulty in understanding multiplication tables, but in reality, multiplication is nothing more than repeated addition. It is fascinating to observe the great increase that multiplication brings. For example, if you have some good news to share with a lot of people, start out by telling a couple of your closest friends. It is almost guaranteed that each of those friends will tell a couple of their close friends, and so on and so forth until the news is spread over a large area. Christ wants the number of His disciples to be increased. This is done through our missionary efforts of sharing the Gospel and bringing others unto Him. As we do, we will receive multiplied blessings (see Jude 2).

This concludes our class on Spiritual Mathematics 101. May the Lord “teach [each of] us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

I do not mean to come across as being callous, cruel, or mean-spirited, but the older I get, the more discouraged and dishearten I become as I watch some of our young people - the future of our world, place themselves in a proverbial box called defeatism. Unquestionably, some of us have grown up in unfavorable conditions and in an unkind society that constantly reminds us, and in some cases has thoroughly convinced us, that our father never amounted to much, and our mother has never amounted to much, and so, as the proverbial apple never seems to fall far from the tree, we ourselves can expect to never amount to much either. The tragedy of it all is that society is not alone in painting this picture of hopelessness and despair, but that same picture hangs on the walls in our homes, as well as, in the classrooms of our schools.

I wish to send a very clear, precise, and concise message to our youth of today: the time has come for you to stop wallowing in the mud of hopelessness and slowly drowning yourselves in the sea called despair. Now is the time to break free from that proverbial box that you have found yourselves in, and from the strangling chords of the voices of naysayers who preach negativism and defeatism. Rise above your current station in life. You can if you believe that you can!

Maybe it is true that your father and mother have never done anything to make an honorable name for themselves, or have ever tried to get out of their current situations and better themselves. Maybe it is true that you were born in unfavorable and adverse conditions. Maybe it is true that all of your young life people have done nothing but knock you down and kick you while you were down. However, it does not have to stay that way. Though the night may seem dark and dreary, nighttime only last for a season and then the morning comes. And with the dawning of the morning comes a light of hope that shines bright as the noon day sun.

Now is the time for you to start realizing that you are not your father and you are not your mother. God Almighty has made each of us uniquely YOU. He has meted to you and me a measure of faith, hope, courage, talents, and abilities. It is time for you to put behind you those things that once were, and press forward to obtain those things that can, and (with faith, hope, patience, determination, and endurance) will be. Stop listening to the perpetual lies of those who do not have your best interest at heart, and start believing in yourself. You can do whatever it is you have a mind to do, and you can become whatever it is that you have a desire to become in life, but YOU have to believe that you can do it. If you cannot believe in yourselves, how can you honestly expect anyone else to?

Do not become discouraged if at first you do not succeed at doing something, but try and try again knowing that the road to success is often filled with potholes called failure. Many a success in life has been wrought through heartache and failure, so don't let that stop you. Even along the road of success will be hurdles and discouragement which you will have to get over, but don't let that stop you either. Continue to run your race with your head held high and a song of hope and gladness in your heart. You may not be the first to cross the finishing line, but then the winner of a race is not always necessarily the swiftest runner in the race, but he who runs his race well by remaining focused, staying his course, and enduring to the end.

There will be times along the way when you may become weary. Stop and rest for a little while if you must, but don't give up, give in, or quit. Remain focused on your goals and objectives. The finishing line is just in sight. You can make it. Yes you can! May God give you the hope, courage, faith, and determination to endure to the end. God bless you all!