The Apostles Creed begins with the pronoun “I”; but it goes on to rather more important nouns and names.

-G.K. Chesterton, The Well and the Shallows

One of my rules of thumb about preachers is that you can almost immediately tell what kind of preacher they are by the introduction of a sermon. If they start out talking about themselves, you might as well run away, and fast. But that’s not always true. There is still a chance that they can move on from the “I.” A small chance, but a chance.

Do you know people who constantly talk about themselves? Are you one of those people yourself? Here’s the question: does the talking get beyond the “I” to ‘rather more important nouns and names’? Notice also the percentage of the Creed devoted to “I” versus the more important nouns and names.

Here’s a goal (for me, but you can use it if you like): always try to move from the “I” to rather more important nouns and names. And try to do it in similar percentage to the Creed.