Lies, ‘darned’ lies, and statistics
Mark Twain, the great American author wrote, "Figures often
beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which
case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and
force: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, ‘darned’ lies, and
statistics.'" This slightly
modified quote stresses the importance of accuracy in our counting. Although precision with numbers is well regarded
in nearly every field, we can limit ourselves when we base our reality solely
on what we can count.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus had just healed thousands of sick people
and as the evening approached, His disciples suggested that He send the large crowd
away to get food. Much to their
surprise, He told the disciples to feed the hungry masses instead of sending
them away. Like many of us, the disciples counted on what they had, enough food
for one person, and decided this was an impossible task (Matthew 14-17).
Jesus took the small
amount of food, gave thanks to the Father and prepared the meal. It miraculously became more than enough to
feed the gathering (Matthew 18-21). How
many of us are counting on our salary, our educational level, the money in our
bank account, the equity in our home, our family members, the number of our important
friends, or other resources that we can see?
We must know that the little we have
is more than enough to meet our needs when we put it in the hands of God by
faith and ask for His blessings. In the
song “Ordinary People”, Danniebelle Hall wrote, “little becomes much as you place it in
the Master's hand.” We
should never base our hope on the things we can see which may be small, but we
should turn everything over to Him and let Him bless us to meet the needs of
our lives.
Please comment below and share
with others how He blessed what little you had and it turned out to be more than
enough to meet your needs. You can encourage others to do the same.
Matthew 14:14-21
New International Version (NIV)
14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and
healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a
remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can
go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to
eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said.
19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
21 The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.
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