K.I.S.S.

In camp meetings in which I spoke, where there was a number of speakers, they'd remind us of K.I.S.S. "Keep It Short, Stupid!" Warren Wiersbe tells of a conference where he was the keynoter. It seems the speaker before him went beyond his allotted time, thereby leaving him with very little. The windy preacher's excuse was that he couldn't help it, that the spirit constrained him. To which sly Wiersbe replied, "Brother, have you never read, 'the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophet's?'"

It's humbling, but true, most people are not as interested in hearing or reading us, as we ourselves. The wise man's admonition, "Let thy words be few," can be applied to both public speakers and authors, as well as general conversationalists. Jesus said we're not heard for our much speaking. Even God likes one to get to the point!

The prophets of Baal talked all day, from morning till night, with no results. Elijah kept it pithy with only sixty-three words, and the fire fell. Read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount for brevity in speech. And as to writing, John tells us the Bible is a condensed Book, God kept out many things, even things of interest.

Whether in preaching, conversation, or writing, we should leave people wanting more, not bloated. As the old preacher said, "Don't dump on people the whole bail of hay all at once." Generally speaking, brevity is always best.

One thing that has helped me, especially in my preaching and writing, is leaving out detail when it is not pertinent to what you're trying to get across. For example: the State in which it took place; color of hair; make of car; how many other children they had; etc. Let's not wear people out with our words. I come from kin who were characterized by "going around robin's barn" to get something said. It is a trait that has not been easy for me to break; but I'm working on it.

"The only thing about getting old is one story reminds you of another."

(Walter Cronkite)