Articles
Quantity vs. Quality
It is a sad fact of life, especially here in this country, that many value quantity over quality. In most fast-food restaurants, the offerings are small, medium, large, and stupendously large, rather than edible, average-tasting, somewhat pleasing, and delicious. We offer king-sized anything in drinks and food, but few advertise how much better their food is than the next restaurant. Yes, there are "taste tests" every so often, but no one asks you in the restaurant about your tastes; they ask, "Do you want to super-size that?" And we answer without blinking.
Even when it comes to spiritual matters, many have this quantity-over-quality mentality. The largest denomination in the world [Roman Catholicism] and the largest non-Christian religion [Islam] promote their number of ‘adherents’ [which is not actually true; being born into the family of believers of either does not make one an ‘adherent’], rather than debate the issue of whether or not their doctrines are truth. Some will even argue by the numbers as to their acceptance by even God Himself, as if God, too, looked at the sheer number of followers and determined they must be accepted.
The reality is, numbers rarely [if ever] are a sign of one's spiritual standing before God. How many followers you or your church have is essentially irrelevant; the number of people in your megachurch has nothing to do with how you stand in God's eyes; the number of members within your congregation who agree with you, rather than some other brother, is irrelevant when seeking to know what is right; the number of people who come to your gospel meetings [as a preacher] does not determine whether or not you speak truth or error. When it all comes down to it, in spiritual matters, quality is more important than quantity. How so?
Prayer. Jesus once spoke of men who “think that they will be heard for their many words” as they pray (Matt. 6:7), and followed that up by instructing all who heard Him, “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matt. 6:8). To God, it is not so much how much you say, but what you say in your prayers, that matters. To emphasize this truth, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (Matt. 6:9ff), rather than how long to pray.
Our instruction in God's written word is about the content of our prayers, rather than the length. Paul tells us we should pray “for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Tim. 2:1, 2); he asked for the prayers of others “that God would open to us a door for the word” (Col. 4:3), “that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified” (2 Thess. 3:1), that he might “open [his] mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” and “speak boldly” as he should (Eph. 6:19, 20), and simply for him and his fellow workers in the Kingdom (1 Thess. 5:25). Nowhere do we see Paul asking for long, wordy prayers, and there are no instructions about how long they should be. In our prayers, the quality matters more than the quantity of our words.
Attendance. This is a point some will try to use as an excuse for their absence, but if you're thinking this is a reasonable, acceptable excuse for purposefully missing an assembly, you would be incorrect. The point that should be made about our attendance in the worship assembly is something that might be best put in the form of a question: Is the worship we offer when we do attend acceptable to God, or not?
You see, even in the first century, there were men who regularly worshiped God, but God said of them, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me” (Matt. 15:8, 9). To God, what mattered was not the simple matter of them being there, or even the worship they offered; what mattered to Him was whether or not they were truly honoring Him and glorifying Him by what they taught and practiced. As it stood, it wouldn't have mattered that they 'never missed a service' or were 'always there when the doors opened,' because what they offered was not what He demanded; their attendance — and what they offered when they were there — was meaningless; their hearts weren't in it!
The fact is, God cares about the quality of what we offer to Him in our worship, more than the simple matter of how often we come together to worship. [Again, don't think this offers anyone an excuse to purposefully miss an opportunity; that is just as unacceptable to God as the vain worship.] God seeks worshipers who will “worship Him…in spirit and truth” (John 4:23, 24), and needs no more who are simply mouthing the words without seeking to honor and glorify Him. In our worship, quality is more important than even 'perfect attendance.'
Bible Study. I know many people have begun a "read the Bible in a year" study schedule and have been doing a good job of reading their Bibles every day. But, let me ask this: How much are you learning from God's word this year? How much more will you understand at the end of the year? How much more of God's word will you comprehend, properly interpret, and apply and grow because of it by year's end?
Please don't misunderstand me; I know God is pleased at the reading of His word, and so am I. But we also must be doing more than simply trying to 'get through the Bible in a year.' We must be reading to understand, to comprehend, and apply that we may grow. Peter's admonition that we “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Pet. 2:2) has more to do with Bible study [reading, interpreting, applying] than just Bible reading. One may get through the Bible at the end, never comprehending one word more than he did before by year's end, and he will not have grown one bit. Let us not forget Peter admonished these same disciples to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18); that will not come about by simple reading; we must study our Bibles, as well as reading our Bibles. Quality of Bible study contributes more to our spiritual growth than the amount of words we read in a year.
Numbers. As much as we would like to avoid talking those numbers, we must. Is there really 'strength in numbers,' as some say and think? Is the size of a local church any indication of its spiritual strength and influence in the community? Well, there is no other way to put this: NO!
While the world may look at the numbers of a church's attendance figures when looking for a 'strong' church, they are looking at the wrong standard for measuring a church's strength. The strength of any local church is not in its numbers, but in the members.
A church that is being properly equipped by its elders, evangelists, and teachers is one that will be best able to do its work (Eph. 4:11, 12), and best able to become more like Christ, as they should (Eph. 4:13-15). And that local church, when “every part does its share,” will cause “growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph. 4:16). Only when the members are fed and strengthened by God's word, and only when those members each receive the spiritual food and do what they should will they be strong — regardless of how many members. —— Steven Harper
