Words

"The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?" (Ecclesiastes 6:11).

Full disclosure: I haven't yet watched a single debate, Democrat or Republican. I guess I'm guilty of letting others sort it out initially and waiting to see who is left standing. That may not be responsible politically, but honestly, I'm tired of the words.

That may sound like a strange thing for a preacher to say. I live on words. I communicate for a living. Words are, quite literally, my bread and butter—and I use a lot of them. In writing, in blogging, in preaching, words come rather naturally to me.

But I was also taught very early on, in both my journalistic background and my speech training, to only use the words that are necessary. In my journalism classes at Ball State, I remember one ruthless professor who would look at our assignments and tell us just how many words were unnecessary. (He especially hated the word "that," and said most of the time it was completely unnecessary.) I remember how, on speech team in both high school and college, I had to learn to get my main point across in 5-7 minutes after thirty minutes of preparation. Not a lot of time for extra words!

Perhaps the Teacher gave courses on communication when he wasn't writing Ecclesiastes, because he has the right idea: the more the words, the less the meaning. Still today, I labor over my sermons, cutting out words, searching for the right words, wanting to make sure I'm not wasting my listeners' time. Time is a valuable commodity today, and people give me that gift every Sunday morning. They permit me a hearing. It is a sin to waste that gift. So I work hard at finding the right words.

And that brings me back to the debates. While I haven't watched any of them, I've listened to the summations on the news every "morning after." And there are words. Lots of words. Words on stage. Words in tweets. Words in interviews. Words in the press. Words to explain the words. Lots of words, and when they get done, I ask myself: what did they say? The more the words, the less the meaning. That certainly seems to apply to the debate season, maybe even to much of what we pass off as politics in modern America. Using lots of words, saying very little.

I think that's why I'm waiting for some of the dust to settle. Perhaps those who are left standing on both sides of the aisle will begin to say something of substance. Hey, politicians! Hey, preachers! Hey, communicators! If I'm going to give you my time, don't waste it. Say something. Say something important. Say something meaningful. Don't just use words. Say something!