When I was actively engaged in business and marketing, we often abided by the 80/20 rule, Pareto’s Principle: 80% of the revenues of a business will come from 20% of all the customers; 80% of all the profits will comes from 20% of the products. I followed this in my business strategies and in my marketing plans. It worked and was effective. We would woo and pamper the top 20% of the customers, showering them with perks and privileges. We paid less attention to the rest.
I am glad God is not a business person nor a marketing guy. He does the exact opposite. He would leave the 99 behind and look for the 1 that is lost, the least, or even the last. It is very reassuring that God will never give up hope on anyone. He will leave everyone else to look and seek anyone who goes astray and gets lost.
God has called me by name. He touched me with His power and I came to be. His abiding presence guides my everyday life. I may be one of many but he thinks the universe of me. And He deals with everyone the same way He deals with me because of His infinite power. Men have limited capacity; therefore they have to apply Pareto’s Principle. God is infinite; therefore He applies the Love Principle.
The Lord our God comes with power.
~ Psalm 96
Jesus said to his disciples:
“What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”
Matthew 18:12-14
on the contrary, the Lord may be practicing Paretos principle to the extreme, instead of 80/20, It is 99/1 for the Lord,,,,i lost soul that goes astray and saved is enough to celebrate and rejoice!