Does the name Edward Everett sound familiar to you? He was a famous orator who delivered the speech that preceded President Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.
But here was the difference. Everett’s speech lasted for two hours. Abraham Lincoln’s speech lasted for two minutes.
Everett’s speech made the front page of newspapers all around the country. I would challenge you today to find anyone who can quote a line from his speech, but President Lincoln’s speech has gone down in history as one of the greatest ever.
The contrast of the two speeches reminds us today of something very important: it is not how long one speaks, but the power of the message.
In William Shakespeare’s play, “Hamlet,” Polonius says to Claudius, the King of Denmark, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” (Act 2, Scene 2)
In the New Testament, the 20th chapter of the book of Acts tells the story of the Apostle Paul preaching so long one evening that somebody in the congregation fell asleep and then fell out of a third-story window!
There is no record of Jesus ever preaching to such a great length. What he said was always to the point. What he said spoke deeply to the soul. Isn’t it amazing that after all these centuries, those few words of Jesus continue to greatly influence our lives?
Let me encourage/challenge you today to take 15 minutes and read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 5, 6 & 7. It’s not how long one speaks, but the power of the message.
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