The Mathematics of Reality
Do you think about numbers? I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with them. I’m a fan of even numbers, and multiples of 10, the others, I avoid where possible. I wouldn’t even put the TV volume on 17, the thought is like arrgh. I see numbers as pictures in my head, they need to have a body, a story, they desperately need to be attached to something I could feel. 2+2 is just, cold. 2 oranges + 2 bananas that mama bomboi asked you to buy, ehen, now you talking.
An interesting aspect about numbers are the operators, those things that manipulate them; Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division etc. They are literally baked into life, we use these operators every single moment; We add friends, subtract ‘haters’ multiply our monies, divide our attention etc
One thing that has been on my mind is eternity, never ending numbers. The root of the word is Latin, Aeternus meaning no beginning and no end. Is there really eternity or is the life on earth all that there is? We know intuitively that this is not all there is, that we live in a subset of eternity. So if we do, doesn’t it mean that the things we do here have a bearing on the long term? A single donut eaten every hour is likely to add up to diabetes, In an hour it’s just a donut, just.
Now, taking all this together, an equation popped into my mind; multiply everything you do and say by eternity and see the result, if you would be able to bear or accept it.
Multiply everything by Eternity
Aah I thought, let’s do some maths! I’d been faced with having to forgive rather than live in bitterness, and I thought to myself. Bitterness x Eternity = ?. Living in bitterness for a moment aches talk more eternity “that’s hell!” my friend said. It might feel good to revenge for a moment, just, but it will add up.
So let’s remember that what we do matters, not just to us, but to others, to God. I am not a picture of perfection, far from it, I’ve had to confess my failings more often these days, but I find myself increasingly able to talk about those weaknesses because that’s not the entire picture. God meets us in our weaknesses and gives us strength to overcome through love. The Holy Spirit will help us moment by moment to stop and ask these questions, What treasures do I want to store, what attitudes do I want to cultivate for eternity? essentially teaching us how to love better.
So the next time you are faced with a decision to do something that doesn’t resemble love (1 Corinthians 13:4–8), think about it, if I multiplied x by eternity, where x = not love, would I want to live with that forever? would I want someone else to bear that forever?
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
