Be Succinct

Don’t shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think.
Don’t be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear.
God’s in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better.

Ecclesiastes 5:2 

 

I read a story recently about an older pastor who wanted to mentor a new pastor to take his place so he could retire.  There were four who wanted to be the pastor's protege.  He instructed each of them to write out a sermon, which he would read and critique. Afterwards, each would deliver their sermon and he would then make his selection.

 

Three of the four worked for a week on their sermons spending many hours in the library digging through theology books, sermons by great preachers of old, reading countless articles and delving into the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures.  The day came for them to turn in their sermons.  Three turned in sermons which were 50 pages or more.  The fourth turned in a single page.  The older pastor looked at the fourth skeptically and said, "Are you sure this is your sermon?"  The fourth simply nodded.

 

The day came for them to deliver their sermons.  The first stood and delivered a 45 minute fire and brimstone sermon.  The second stood and delivered such a passionate sermon, he was sweating profusely by the time he finished after an hour.  The third stood and spoke with such eloquence that one would have thought him a Shakespearean actor, after 90 minutes he finished with a flourish, bowed and returned to his seat.  The three were quite proud of themselves, and chuckled among themselves when the fourth stood and walked to the pulpit.  He put his hands on either side of the pulpit, took a deep breathe and said, "According to Scripture, Jesus said God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die in our place.  Jesus also told us to love and pray for each other.  THAT is what we are on Earth to do."  And he sat down.

 

The old pastor said he had reached his decision.  He told the first, "You did an outstanding job of researching your topic.  Your delivery was truly memorable."  He told the second, "I can tell you put your heart into this project. Your delivery was truly emotional."  He told the third, "YOU did an magnificent job making certain your thoughts flowed together.  Your performance was nothing short of elegant."  Then he told the three of them, "While I appreciate all the effort and investment your have put into this project, you forgot the very simple fact that Jesus talked with people in ways THEY could understand.  He didn't brow beat anyone.  He didn't belittle anyone. He certainly didn't try to intimidate anyone with his wisdom.  Therefore, none of you will be my student."  Then he spoke to the fourth, "You clearly understand what I was looking for, a simple message with truth and brevity."

 

Some say little with many words, while others speak volumes with few.