AUGUST 11

Choosing Your Words

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14

EACH WEEK WHEN I SIT DOWN TO prepare my Sunday message, I often think of the wise counsel of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes:

Keep this in mind: The Teacher was considered wise, and he taught the people everything he knew. He listened carefully to many proverbs, studying and classifying them. The Teacher sought to find just the right words to express truths clearly.

The words of the wise are like cattle prods —painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.

But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

ECCLESIASTES 12:9-14

When Solomon was writing Ecclesiastes, he didn’t just dump a load of verbiage on the page. He pondered, he searched out, he arranged his thoughts about the teaching of knowledge. He also “sought to find just the right words” (Ecclesiastes 12:10) to use to write truth correctly and in a way that would be clearly understood. As one of our church members recently said to me, “You know, I not only appreciate truth, I also appreciate the turn of a phrase.” I think we all do!

Let’s get serious about removing the yawn and the grimace from the faces of the unbelieving world . . . especially when we’re communicating about Christ and His grace. Work hard to keep your message simple and engaging, interesting and clear. I learned years ago that a mist in the pulpit puts a fog in the pew.