"...Then said He unto His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.”      Matthew 9:37-38


While reading Malcolm Gladwell’s New York Times bestseller, The Tipping Point, I came across a line I found fascinating. It is a relatively simple premise; a theory in economics called the 80/20 Principle. The short version is, within any group, the key word being any, “80 percent of the work will be done by 20 percent of the participants.”  Stop and take a moment to think about it. Gladwell writes:

“In most societies, 20 percent of criminals commit 80% of crimes. 20 percent of motorists cause 80% of all accidents. 20 percent of beer drinkers drink 80% of all beer.” He further states, “When it comes to epidemics, this disproportionality becomes even more extreme; a tiny percentage of people do the majority of the work.”  

This simply means that if we are referring to HIV, STDs, the flu, or any other virus, the 20 percent rule is much lower; it’s closer to 6%.  So, 6% of the group will infect 94 percent of the group if the virus is not isolated and/ or treated within a given time period.

After reading this, I began thinking of other areas where this principle could be seen. Currently in the United States there are approximately 300 million people.  Approximately 45% of our population—135 million people, are Christian; this includes all denominations.  Yet, Christians have enormous influence in the U.S. Our influence encourages or discourages other voters in selecting their regional and national leaders.  In an effort to honor Puritan values on sobriety, regional “Blue Laws” are enforced on non-Christians weekly; and, whether we see its remnants or not, the Ten Commandments is still the basis for our judicial system.

So, this leads me to think about prayer. If the 80/20 principle works on a whole in economics and is essentially flawless when referring to an epidemic, why shouldn’t it work in God’s economy?  Why shouldn’t it work for prayer in your church? 

The original principle came directly from our Bible to begin with. Although God’s effecting percentage is much smaller and covers a much larger group.  The Bible says:

“And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will rid evil beast out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land…And 5 (5%) of you shall chase a hundred; and a hundred (1%) of you shall put ten thousand to flight; and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.”  (Leviticus 26:6, 8)

So, here’s the question of the day.  Is 20% of your church praying for the other 80% of your group?  Who is praying for your family?  Who covers your building? What about your block? Your city? Your state? Your country? This planet?  Our universe? 

In Matthew 9:36-38, Jesus, looking at the multitude remarked how large the harvest was, and how few laborers there were. If forty-five percent of those in our nation are confessed Christians, there should be no grumbling about the state of this world. In God’s economy where 2 or 3 gathered in His name can enact change, 135 million people can surely pray to change the heartfelt desperation of 6 to 7 billion lives.   L. 

Study Reference: Matthew 9:36-38  
From: "The 80/20 Principle." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living.  
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell

“And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.  And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.”         1 Samuel 17:32-33


The story of David’s conquest of Goliath is probably one of the most famous stories in the Bible.  It would be easy to examine David’s conquering of Goliath as a metaphor for whatever battles you might be facing, however, let’s look at something else. 

Although as children we believed David was about 12 or 13 years old when he met Goliath, it is much more probable that he was in his late teens to mid-twenties. As the youngest of eight boys, we can imagine he was a little rambunctious, with that wonderful agility young men get from working outdoors—strong, sinewy, and muscular. His responsibility of caring for his father’s sheep was probably a great way to keep him out of trouble while learning the responsibilities of a shepherd, a task not taken very lightly in tribal Israel. When Jesse, David’s father, asked him to take provisions to his older brothers who had been perched atop a mountain for forty days prepped for war against the Philistines; chances are, he had no idea David was planning to stay! After all, he was not even dressed for battle! 

Let’s recap the story for those who don’t remember the details.  After hearing David’s bravado while speaking with his brothers and the other soldiers, Saul’s soldiers, recounting David’s bravery, take David to the King. By this time, King Saul had already lost God’s favor due to disobedience; and, unbeknownst to Saul, Samuel the Prophet had already anointed David to be the next King of Israel.  While speaking to King Saul, David repeats the same level of bravado he used while speaking to the soldiers.  Out of options, and as fearful as the rest of his army, King Saul, a massive man, offers David his own over-sized attire to fight Goliath.  David sheds Saul’s attire, and straps on his own unique armament, a slingshot and 5 smooth stones, as his weapons of choice.

Think about this. Did Saul really expect for David to return undefeated? No. He actually sent him out there to die. Saul was simply trying to buy time, or even worse—surrender!  He had no idea that God’s favor was with David. We can imagine, David tending sheep, wondering when he was going to get the chance to join his brothers on the field of battle, daydreaming of a time when he could show the Philistines, and all the enemies of God, God’s strength.

There are going to be times in your life when you too will be thrust into battle, simply to buy time for someone else who, running out of options, has no idea what else to do! You will be called to step into the gap; they will try to give you their armaments to fight, but theirs will not be a custom fit for you.  At that time, and on that day, they will have no idea that God is using them to help you step into your destiny.  And like King Saul, they will have absolutely no clue that your time has come!  The question is--will you be ready?  L.

Study Reference: 1 Samuel 17:1-58, 18:6-15  
From: "Will You Be Ready?" In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living.  
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell

“Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceable with all men.… Beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing, thou shall heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”        Romans 12:17-21

 During the 1980’s filmmaker Clint Eastwood starred in the film series, Dirty Harry. The storyline portrayed a police officer on a rampage of revenge against the criminals in his community. Although it became wildly successful, the problem with this premise was, as he went after the criminals to take revenge, he became a criminal. The film series caused an uproar within communities plagued by crime, with the mantra, “Take back the streets” from the criminals. Communities around the nation became newsworthy, airing various types of vigilante style murders “taking back the streets.”  Charles Bronson’s, Death Wish film series continued touting the same mantra. But again, it made the man taking the streets back from the criminals, a criminal himself. America’s urban communities plagued by heinous crimes learned a new word, vigilante.  

Although the word “vigilante” was new, the premise was as old as the Bible itself.  Found in Exodus 21:22-27, the concept of an “eye for an eye” came directly from our Bible.  It is an Old Testament adage based on revenge, vengeance, and/or debt repayment. It directs the slighted person to avenge a wrong enacted against a family or household member, by inflicting equal harm to the perpetrator.  In a world where this was the norm, two things were true. Potential perpetrators lived with the fear that anything they did, would be done to them; and potential victims knew that, if a wrong was enacted against them, and they lived, they had the right to enact an equal act to their offender. All anger had to be tempered, because no one really knew who was crazy enough not to care whether they suffered the same fate as their victim or not.  

Then came Jesus! Jesus took the Old Testament standard and inverted it to our benefit, asking us to love our neighbors as ourselves, forgive our enemies, and leave all vengeance to God. He taught us that we shared the same fate as the offender if we took revenge into our own hands. Furthermore, in our quest to truly become the children of God, we were to forgive our enemies; not take their eyes, hands, feet, children, etc.  It is an intrinsic premise that is still as difficult today for us to follow, as it was when He taught it to His disciples two-thousand years ago.   

The basic problem with revenge is, it never stops.  Every time someone feels slighted enough to take matters into their own hands, there’s now someone new who feels exactly the same way after the revenge is taken. It becomes a vicious cycle that never ends. Jesus wanted us to understand that in forgiving the debts incurred by others, we achieved forgiveness for any debts we owed. And in ending the cycle, we accepted the promise of inner peace, instead of carrying the burden and evil of revenge. 

The story of Absalom avenging the rape of his sister Tamar, in 2 Samuel 13, was methodically planned out.  Absalom knew exactly how Amnon, his half-brother, would suffer for raping and discarding his sister. However, once the murder was completed, it placed a permanent wedge between his father, King David, and himself. In addition, the wedge would later cause a rift within the kingdom of Israel between those who wanted to follow Absalom, and those who preferred the rule of King David.  The rift would eventually turn into a deep chasm, costing Absalom his life.  

Like Absalom, we can accept the hatred, contempt, and burden of revenge; or we can accept inner peace, by understanding that all vengeance belongs to God.  L.

Study Reference: Romans 12:17-21, Exodus 21:22-27
From:"An Eye for An Eye." In The Master's Hands: 365 Daily Devotions For Everyday Living.  
Copyright © 2014 by Lavona E. Campbell