The Importance of Brevity
By C. H. LEWIS
PERHAPS reverence is an inborn faculty to some extent, but it is nevertheless improved in both old and young by agreeable and favorable conditions; and there is no other factor so important in the fostering of influences favorable to reverence as that of the attitude of those assuming the greater part of the responsibility in conducting religious services. Inattention of the people is sometimes due in part to a lack of preparation on the part of the speaker, and this lack is not always seen in the barrenness of expression and in the want of words, but more often in the fullness of words. A thorough preparation will lead to the exclusion of many unimportant thoughts, words, and phrases, and hence shorten the discourse. Ex-President Eliot of Harvard University once said, “If you wish me to speak for one hour, give me one day to prepare; if I am to speak for half an hour, give me one week’s notice, and if you would have me talk for fifteen minutes, I want at least one month for preparation.” If Dr. Eliot’s opinion be true that the amount of time necessary to prepare a speech or sermon is in inverse ratio to the time for its delivery, we fear for the audience next addressed by the well-known man who says he has “had no time to prepare.” Of all forms of public utterance, surely the sermons from our pulpits deserve the most careful attention in the matter of preparation and delivery. The message of the Lord as given through his appointed ambassadors ought not to be marred by a single word thoughtlessly spoken. Anciently the Lord spoke face to face with his people; and the records of his conversations with Adam, Moses, Elijah, and others of his servants, are models of brevity—direct, simple, and forceful. The spoken words of Christ while on this earth are few, well chosen, and pregnant with meaning. The Bible is the most concise and comprehensive work in the realm of literature. Its lessons are driven home to the reader in a pointed and never-to-be-forgotten way, and have appealed to the hearts of men from the very beginning. The most spiritual lessons which it contains are stated within the bounds of a few verses. Taking into consideration these enduring epigrams of inspiration, we cannot conceive of God’s truth being presented in a more effective way. “A word spoken in due season, how good is it!” Prov. 15:23. But “I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Matt. 12:36.