This week we are in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7.

If you watched TV in the late 70s or early 80s, you probably remember the E.F. Hutton commercials. They were simple, clever, and memorable. The setup was usually a crowded, noisy place such as a restaurant, an airport, a busy street. Two people would be talking, and one would say, “Well, my broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says…” And then suddenly the room fell silent as everyone around them would freeze, lean in, and try to eavesdrop on what would come next. The commercials’ tagline was iconic: “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”

The idea was that E.F Hutton was such an authority that if somebody was about to share something from them, everybody would desperately want to hear it. Just don’t ask me to explain exactly what a brokerage does. In case you’re curious, E.F. Hutton was dissolved in the 1980’s after a check-kiting scandal which apparently does not mean that they were using customers’ paper checks to fly as kites. The brand has since re-launched.

Ecclesiastes chapter five reminds us that our words should carry weight too, and sometimes that means using fewer of them.

Do not be hasty to speak, and do not be impulsive to make a speech before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2 HCSB)

Have you ever had the experience where you meet up with a friend and get excited telling a story or two, only to realize later there was something going on in their life that you completely forgot to discuss? You were well-intentioned, but maybe (and accidentally) focused on what you wanted to say so much that you didn’t give them a chance?

It’s polite to give others time to speak at a social gathering, and we for sure don’t want to talk over something God is trying to quietly impart to us. When we pray, we don’t need to impress God with volume or vocabulary. We’re not putting on a show. But a key reason we should let our words be few is that it would not make sense to dominate a conversation with God.

When E.F. Hutton talked, the people in the commercials would listen. When I’m praying, am I having a one-sided conversation where I pour out what’s on my mind without listening to what God may be telling me to do about it?

By Mark Stuart

Mark is the husband of Laura, father of Shelby and Jacob (Bailey), and grandfather of Charley.