Even More Powerful Than E.F. Hutton

In the 1970s, the brokerage firm of E.F. Hutton ran an unforgettable series of TV commercials. The set up was always similar. Two people in a crowded public place are talking about financial matters. One shares the wisdom of some broker. The other person responds, “Well, my broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says . . . .” At that moment, the surrounding crowd is immediately quiet. Everyone leans forward eagerly to hear what E. F. Hutton says. The voiceover explains, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.” Even as a teenage boy with no interest in financial markets, I learned that E.F. Hutton had a voice worth hearing, a powerful voice, indeed.

According to Genesis, God’s voice is even more powerful than E.F. Hutton’s. By speaking, God actually creates. When God says, “Let there be light,” light comes into existence (1:3). When God says, “Let the earth put forth vegetation,” the earth is filled with plants and trees (1:11-12). The voiceover for Genesis 1 might say, “When God talks, creation happens.” God’s word is indeed more powerful than E.F. Hutton’s.

If this is true, then surely we ought to pay close attention to what God says. Like those eavesdroppers in the E.F. Hutton commercials, we should quiet down enough to pay attention to what God says.

We all have many voices speaking into our lives. Some may be wise and well worth heeding. Others may be trivial, distracting, or downright evil. But, in the midst of a cacophony of voices, may God give us grace to hear his voice. May we find the will and the way to quiet down enough to hear what God has to say. May it be true of us, that when God talks, we listen.