The Wisdom and Spirituality of Counting

Numbers 2:9

All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.

There is a fear amongst believers about counting their attendance and those they’ve seen saved because of the Pharisees who say that we are all about numbers. If this is the case, then God is very unspiritual. In Numbers 1:2, God says, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel.… To take the sum of something means somebody had to count. You can't get a sum without somebody getting a list of numbers to add up to get that sum. Therefore, if it is unspiritual to count, God would be an unspiritual God.

Likewise, throughout the Scriptures, we see many had to count, and God recorded that count. It was not just in the Old Testament that we see God counting, but we also see it in the New Testament. For instance, somebody had to count at the feeding of the 5,000 to know that there were 5,000 people there. Somebody had to count at the feeding of the 4,000 to know that there were 4,000 people there. Somebody had to count on the day of Pentecost to know that there were 3,000 people who were saved and baptized. Jesus had to count the 10 lepers who were healed when He asked, but where are the nine. Somebody had to count at the prayer meeting to know that there were 120 people in the upper room. You see, we are given a model from Christ Himself to count. Let me share several benefits about the wisdom of counting.

First, counting allows you to organize. I can guarantee that those who criticize counting are either disorganized or disingenuous because they had to count to organize. You cannot be an organized church if someone is not counting. You cannot be a growing church if someone is not counting. There are several philosophies behind the size of a Sunday school class, which we will not cover in this devotional, that are important to the growth of the Sunday school. If you are going to be an organized church, you must count the attendance and record that count for future use.

Second, counting allows you to set goals. You cannot have a faith goal if you don't know what you've done in the past. Setting a goal without knowing the numbers is foolish at best. You don't know if your goal is really higher than where you are right now because you have no numbers to base that goal on. Spiritual goals will always take you higher, and the only way to know if you are setting higher goals is by looking at the numbers from the past—the numbers that someone counted.

Third, counting allows you to plan. How can you plan for a big day if you don't have any numbers to look at? Counting and recording that count is what allows you to look at the past to know how to plan for something big in the future. The only way to plan wisely is by having some numbers to give you a horizon as to what you've done in the past, which helps you plan for an event in the present.

Fourth, counting motivates or convicts you. You will never know if what you are doing in the present is better or worse without counting. Counting motivates you to do more, or it convicts you that you are not doing enough in the present. Do not let the unspiritual Pharisees keep you from counting because our God gives us the model of the importance of getting a count and recording it.