It’s a subtle evil that appears innocent on the surface, but can be quite harmful in effect on our health and happiness—the worship of numbers.
For instance, the intake of calories. Many people allow their consciousness and decision-making to be dominated by concern over how many calories they are consuming.
Weight is another number people can become obsessed with, constantly worrying about whether they are putting on too many pounds, or perhaps not enough.
Or dollars. People deciding how well off they are according to how many dollars they saved in the bank.
Or readings of the body; the pulse, cholesterol levels, white cell count, heartbeat, and on and on and on. If the medical model is adopted as the model for health, one begins to believe they are more a machine governed by statistics, rather than a person that thinks.
Or numbers of people. The belief that the more people in a group, the more powerful and influential they are. Jesus proved that wrong. He was one man and changed the world.
It’s important to keep a metaphysical perspective on numbers to demonstrate spiritual dominion in our life.
Numbers are effect, not cause. It’s never a number that determines how healthy we are. It’s never a number that determines how successful we can be. It’s never a number that determines our wealth. It’s mind that determines all these factors.
Numbers may give us a snapshot of where thought currently resides, but the number we see is not a cause of anything. It’s not in control of us, doesn’t control our mind or actions, and does not outline our future. It’s just a number. There is no power in numbers.
All power belongs to God! God is the source of all true health, of abundant supply and of everything else necessary to live happily and healthily.
If a number indicates something is wrong, God can change the underlying error and improve it. The number is not the issue. What is true with God? is the important issue.
As we discover what is true with God and live it, either the bad number goes away or a wrong interpretation of that number gets corrected and the number is not seen as bad after all. Conditions improve and progress continues.
So, it’s important to put numbers in their proper place. They are not a cause or a creator. They are not to be feared, revered, celebrated, or worshiped.
If we celebrate numbers one day, we’re likely to be depressed about numbers on another day. It becomes a vicious cycle. The wiser way is to go higher. Worship God!
Know and prove that you are healthy because God made you that way, not because a number says so. Prove that you can demonstrate fitness because you reflect the dominion of the one Mind that always makes wise choices and produces the best effect, not because you ate the “right amount” of calories that day.
Worship God, not numbers, and demonstrate more stability and certainty in your life.
Hi Evan , you are so right, thank you so much you are fantastic, I cannot step down to error mistake lies level , why would I be so stupid to do that, thank you from Frank
Excellent… just what I needed. Thank you!
Bravo, Evan, with many thanks. Balance is recognized with truth of ideas on each side of the = sign.
I really wasn’t aware of how much I allowed numbers to rule my happiness. This was a wake-up call. It occurred to me that they are used to “measure” how much or how little we have of something. (limiting things) and letting numbers measure our worth, health, status in society and so on. Wow ! Sure will do some prayerful work on this subject. Love supplies all good in every hour. Thanks for the reminder. Charla
Oh, my. What a great uncovering of error.
Reminds me of what Mark Swinney said–that one on God’s side is not a majority, it’s a monopoly. And the story of Lawrence Doyle trying to count to infinity, and then realizing that all he had to count to was one, because if infinity is truly infinite, there’s only one of it.
One is the only number that counts. One God, one power, one all-loving presence, one Soul, one Mind, “and that one infinite” — one I, one us, one ALL.
Other numbers are symbolic, of course: Three symbolizing eternity; four symbolizing spiritual equality, entirety; seven symbolizing completeness; twelve, symbolizing all peoples. But they’re all embraced in the infinite one, the one Principle governing all numerals.
As for the greatest number fallacy of all, age, the Bible says “A thousand years in thy sight are as but yesterday when it is passed, and as a watch in the night.” (Ps. 90) So if anyone asks our age, we can honestly say we’ve never stepped into this realm of measurements and limits, that we are eternally ‘one.’
Thanks, Evan!
Love the math!
Good Morning, Evan, and fellow SpiritView Fans!
As this is the end of the year, and a season for expressing even more gratitude, I want to take this opportunity to let you know how much you all have helped me along my path. It is a joy to tune into SpiritView early each morning
for an uplift I always receive. Thank you, all!
Evan, I thought about your helpful reminder to keep numbers as useful tools but not to give them “divine” power in our lives. Good one!
And speaking of numbers, and about the number ONE: of course I had to look it up in JSH-online’S wonderful Concord Express!
2,881 references! Perhaps the most important number of all, for God is One, infinite, whole,
indivisible, and we are all part of this wondrous completeness!
I enjoy pondering the word “Universe.” Uni=One …
One Verse, One Poem, One Song…. God’s!
Evan, so perfect! Love all of the comments. Love SpiritView!
Love this One! Thanks, Evan! Really Amazing how in this “dream of life in matter” we do let numbers rule us to our detriment. The One I am most aware of as of late is the Numbers of Age. Noticing how much I identify myself and others by the number of times the earth has circled the sun! When someone asks me my age, I’m trying to remember to respond as Paul Stark Seeley (a well-know C.S. Lecturer and Teacher) did: “That’s none of my business.”….!!! Sending Christmas Joy and Love to All!
I love Mrs. Eddy’s reference to the numerals of infinity. Thank you Evan for this inclusive blog.
Being a numbers guy, it is difficult for me to just give up using a tool that I so often utilize. But what stood out to me from this posting is your truthful statement that numbers are effect not cause. Having been a numbers gatherer for a number of years now, no pun intended, I realize that numbers only provide a conception on a material perspective which can cloud the spiritual and open the door to significant misinterpretation. Anyone who understand the math also understands the ease with which misinterpretation can overwhelm the perspective. Numbers are a manmade conception, used as a tool for which they were purposed, they can fulfill that purpose. But over reliance on them as the whole truth and they melt into error of misuse and lose all significance of purpose. They certainly do not climb to level of the infinite or improve in anyway the level of spiritual mindedness. There is only one cause, one number that has any total value and that is the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient mind established on the principle of truth and love.
Awesome and powerful points, Evan !! The importance of numbers has been inflated!! They might be indicators but they don’t have the authority of either Principle or Love.
Joyous Christmas to all!!
As Josef, I have always been a numbers person having learned manual bookkeeping from my father when a teenager helping with him with his business records. The one thing I have always appreciated in accounting is that when the numbers add up correctly across and down, you know you have made no mistakes. The one thing in math is that you can prove your answers. That’s not true in other facets of our lives, however. Numbers can be limiting and even lie. The only number we can really trust and rely on without any doubt is ONE. One God and one Mind in complete control at all times under all circumstances.
How deeply grateful I am for Christian Science that has revealed this truth to us all.
my husband who is currently overwhelmed with bidding large number projects, came in for breakfast saying Evan wrote his best post yet….. I agree! Numbers have no power, there is only ONE and that is GOD and we reflect all of THAT! love this Spiritview blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great post and comments! I had a dear friend, who when asked how old she was, would say, “That’s an unlisted number!” When I was a little girl I remember a practitioner who got up and said when he was asked how old he was, would reply “I’m as old as God!” There is no age—no number—to God,
Fantastic post and certainly a keeper. Charla says it all for me. Diane appreciated your comments and the reference to Lawrence Doyle. You are all a year-long gift.
Tremendous blog. Thank you,Evan, for this posting about numbers. So appreciate everyone’s comments as well. The only number we need to know is One-God.
What a marvelous statement I for one can reall y use that in my life right now will certainly stay with all you’ve written. Thanks Evan so much
Thank you Evan for your thought provoking SpiritView of today!
As we are spiritual ideas of God, numbers of the kind you mentioned today cannot touch us at all.
God gave and gives us dominion, and so we have dominion over numbers of any kind as well.
As spiritual offsprings of our Father-Mother God we have everything we need in abundance. Dear Evan, I still remember your lecture on “living in abundance” years ago. Thank you for your lectures which we still can watch via internet.
So right. Our societies, companies, want to count and numbers every thing of us. I was considering the new emergent market of connected devices that would like to count every hair of our head, every beat of our heart, every step we make. The Bible says that only God counts every hair of our hair that means that He knows every quality we are made of, every idea he express in us and so on.
Guess I’ll stop being concerned how many hours I’ve slept before getting up; how many friends I have; or even how many days till spring!