Mr. Brown had thought of nothing but numbers. He should have known that the kingdom of God did not depend on large crowds. Our Lord Himself stressed the importance of fewness. Narrow is the way and few the number. To fill the Lord's holy temple with an idolatrous crowd clamoring for signs was a folly of everlasting consequence. Our Lord used the whip only once in His life - to drive the crowd away from His church.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that spiritual fulfillment is not about quantity but quality and sincerity in faith.
In this quote, Chinua Achebe reflects on the notion that true spirituality and connection with the divine are not measured by the size of the congregation or public demonstrations of faith. Instead, he underscores that genuine worship and the essence of faith lie in a smaller, more committed group rather than a large crowd focused on superficial signs. Achebe illustrates this point by referencing the Lord's actions in the temple, highlighting the folly of seeking validation through numbers rather than sincere belief.
In practice
This quote could be used in a sermon to emphasize the importance of true faith over mere attendance.
In fact, I thought that Christianity was very a good and a very valuable thing for us. But after a while, I began to feel that the story that I was told about this religion wasn't perhaps completely whole, that something was left out.
Writers don't give prescriptions. They give headaches!
It is the storyteller who makes us what we are, who creates history. The storyteller creates the memory that the survivors must have - otherwise their surviving would have no meaning.
Writing has always been a serious business for me. I felt it was a moral obligation. A major concern of the time was the absence of the African voice. Being part of that dialogue meant not only sitting at the table but effectively telling the African story from an African perspective - in full earshot of the world.
An angry man is always a stupid man.
Privilege, you see, is one of the great adversaries of the imagination; it spreads a thick layer of adipose tissue over our sensitivity.
The vulgar man is always the most distinguished, for the very desire to be distinguished is vulgar.
Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man's will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself.
Bodily decay is gloomy in prospect, but of all human contemplations the most abhorrent is body without mind.
Our houses are such unwieldy property that we are often imprisoned rather than housed by them.
When the tyrant has disposed of foreign enemies by conquest or treaty, and there is nothing more to fear from them, then he is always stirring up some war or other, in order that the people may require a leader.
If your heart is a volcano, how shall you expect flowers to bloom?
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