Anyone who knows me well knows that math is not my best skill. Oh, I can add and subtract just fine. I balanced my checkbook to the penny in January… 1997. I’m pretty sure I could do it again, if necessary. My multiplying and dividing skills are usually pretty good. I know this to be true because I’m especially talented at increasing pancake recipes. I can even do some fractions in my head, and I’m fair with percentages. 35% off? No problem. Formulas are trickier even though I use to love algebra in school. (Trigonometry is a story for another time.)
As an English major, I never considered that math would be particularly important to my career path. When I became a pastor, I still didn’t expect numbers to be a major part of my work. I was wrong. I understand the concept of a budget and the value in projections. However, I am not always the best at Excel spreadsheets and all the formulas they require. I can usually figure it out, but it takes me a little longer than someone with a head for numbers.
As I sit at my desk and go over figures, I’m often sidetracked by the patterns I see. To be fair, when working with numbers I’m easily diverted. Just about anything is a welcome distraction, but this is different. I don’t mean the numbers appear as shapes and designs. I just find the arrangements and configurations are often related to one another. If I change one number in one column, four others numbers might head in new directions. So many values are dependent on others.
Formulas, I’ve learned, are not restricted to spreadsheets and math problems. The Bible is filled with information where values are dependent on others. As Moses approached a bush blazing yet not burned up, he was given the formula for delivering the Israelite people out of suffering in Egypt. God sent him to Pharaoh to bring the people back to Canaan – a promised land of milk and honey – but for Moses, nothing was adding up. He worked to project the outcome, but the problem was too hard. To his thinking, the solution was too evasive. This was not supposed to be part of his career path.
Almighty God, always the great teacher, is never one to give up on a student. Moses just needed a little more time to do the math and realize this was a balanced plan. God said to Moses, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12, NRSV)
From these instructions, I believe the formula is pretty straightforward. God promises; we listen. God sends; we obey. God blesses; we worship. And through it all, God loves. Even when I don’t understand the equation or I get the wrong answers on my own, the final solution, the common denominator, the sum total, is always the same: God loves.
Faithfully ciphering,
Pastor Beth
As an English major, I never considered that math would be particularly important to my career path. When I became a pastor, I still didn’t expect numbers to be a major part of my work. I was wrong. I understand the concept of a budget and the value in projections. However, I am not always the best at Excel spreadsheets and all the formulas they require. I can usually figure it out, but it takes me a little longer than someone with a head for numbers.
As I sit at my desk and go over figures, I’m often sidetracked by the patterns I see. To be fair, when working with numbers I’m easily diverted. Just about anything is a welcome distraction, but this is different. I don’t mean the numbers appear as shapes and designs. I just find the arrangements and configurations are often related to one another. If I change one number in one column, four others numbers might head in new directions. So many values are dependent on others.
Formulas, I’ve learned, are not restricted to spreadsheets and math problems. The Bible is filled with information where values are dependent on others. As Moses approached a bush blazing yet not burned up, he was given the formula for delivering the Israelite people out of suffering in Egypt. God sent him to Pharaoh to bring the people back to Canaan – a promised land of milk and honey – but for Moses, nothing was adding up. He worked to project the outcome, but the problem was too hard. To his thinking, the solution was too evasive. This was not supposed to be part of his career path.
Almighty God, always the great teacher, is never one to give up on a student. Moses just needed a little more time to do the math and realize this was a balanced plan. God said to Moses, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12, NRSV)
From these instructions, I believe the formula is pretty straightforward. God promises; we listen. God sends; we obey. God blesses; we worship. And through it all, God loves. Even when I don’t understand the equation or I get the wrong answers on my own, the final solution, the common denominator, the sum total, is always the same: God loves.
Faithfully ciphering,
Pastor Beth
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