Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas once said in an interview, “Genius is taking a 20-dollar idea and putting it into a two-dollar sentence. It’s not taking a two-dollar idea and putting it into a twenty-dollar sentence.” I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, although I am not always good at practicing it.
I enjoy talking and writing. I also enjoy arguing, which is why my parents have often said I should’ve gone to law school. I can sometimes get pretty wordy, especially when I’m trying to make a point or try to make someone understand something I don’t think they quite get.
Using words to get an idea across is a good thing, and being able to use them well is a gift. However, if we use too many words, we lose the attention of our readers or listeners. Being wordy can also cause us to lose focus on the point we’re trying to make, and then it just turns into a lot of distracting and pretty words.
When I was a rookie reporter over 20 years ago, I did some freelance for a larger newspaper after solely writing for my small-town paper. I was used to getting asked to help fill space in the small paper by expanding what I was writing about. I had no problem doing that, because like I said, I could get wordy. When I wrote for the larger publication, the editor was shocked at the amount of content I gave him for what was supposed to be a simple story. I was, in fact, putting a two-dollar idea into a 20-dollar article. He asked me to cut it… a lot.
It was a good lesson. I learned to say more with fewer words. That’s how it’s supposed to be with journalism anyway. I still have to work on that, but it’s something I am more aware of now.
Using fewer words to get big ideas across has come in handy working as a technical writer. I was hired to work in a field I had no knowledge of prior to working there. Being an outsider to this particular industry allowed me to see it with a layperson’s eyes, which is one reason I was hired. In order for me to write a manual or procedure, engineers and technicians are forced to get the message across to me in a way that I can understand, and then I can word it in a way customers with little technical background can understand.
This is something Justice Thomas tried to do. One writer and professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Andrew T. Walker, described Thomas as someone who believes that the Constitution should not be left to specialists, so he is careful to craft his opinions in ways that non-specialists can grasp. He is also known for being quiet and only speaking when he feels it’s warranted.
I think one of the biggest problems today is that we all talk too much. With social media, we think we have to comment on everything when sometimes it’s best not to say anything at all. I mean, we’re not experts on every topic. We can’t be. If we just speak when appropriate, then when we do speak up, people might listen. When we feel like we have to be saying something all the time about everything, then people tune out, or perhaps run away.
I've also seen this from a teenager's perspective. My daughter often points out to me how she wants to put her phone down when some of her friends keep "texting her paragraphs."
This is something I have to work at. I do want to speak about a lot of things, some of which I have no business commenting on. That doesn’t mean people want to hear what I have to say all the time.
I believe this is a biblical idea as well. In part of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructed believers how to pray. He said in Matthew Chapter 6, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” He also goes on to say, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think they will be heard for their many words.”
So God Himself doesn’t even want to hear our wordiness, especially if it’s just to be seen and heard. He always hears us, but he would rather listen to words that are sincere and from the heart, not just words that are said to gain attention from people. As it is said in the passage above, when we speak just for attention, that attention is our reward. If we want greater rewards, then we should choose our words more wisely.
What I gain from that passage is if your words are for people, make sure they are edifying and helpful for those people. If they are for God, then people don’t need to hear all of those words at all.
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