--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a crooked stick is before you, you…" description: "\"If a crooked stick is before you, you need not explain how crooked it is. Lay a straight one down by the side of it, and the work is well done. Preach ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/charles-spurgeon-82_crooked_if-a-crooked-stick-is-before-you-you-nee_2721444.png" --- # If a crooked stick is before you, you need not explain how… ![“If a crooked stick is before you, you need not explain how crooked it is. Lay a straight one down by the side of it, and the work is well done. Preach the truth, and error will stand abashed in its presence.” quote by Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/charles-spurgeon-82_crooked_if-a-crooked-stick-is-before-you-you-nee_2721444.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/charles-spurgeon-82_crooked_if-a-crooked-stick-is-before-you-you-nee_2721444.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86d/charles-spurgeon-82_crooked_if-a-crooked-stick-is-before-you-you-nee_2721444.png) > “If a crooked stick is before you, you need not explain how crooked it is. Lay a straight one down by the side of it, and the work is well done. Preach the truth, and error will stand abashed in its presence.” [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Demonstrating truth directly is more effective than describing falsehood; a clear example makes error appear foolish. **In simple terms:** Show truth plainly; error looks bad next to it. Key Takeaway Use clear examples to expose mistakes. Themes truth clarity communication integrity teaching Mood inspirational assertive Type didactic persuasive When to use this quote - public speaking - education - debate - conflict resolution - leadership Key Concepts rhetoric contrast exemplification Questions to Reflect On - How can you present truth without alienating listeners? - When is a direct example more persuasive than argument? A Different Perspective If the audience resists, they may still cling to bias despite clear evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [He that rectifies a crooked stick bends it the contrary way, so must he that would reform a vice learn to affect its mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-chamberlain/he-that-rectifies-a-crooked-stick-bends-it-the-contrary-way-so-must/) [Roger Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-chamberlain/) > [To make a crooked stick straight, we bend it the contrary way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/to-make-a-crooked-stick-straight-we-bend-it-the-contrary-way/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-best-way-to-show-that-a-stick-is-crooked-is-not-to-argue-about-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God can give a straight blow with a crooked stick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/god-can-give-a-straight-blow-with-a-crooked-stick/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [“There is a certain proper and luxurious way of lying in bed. Confucius, that great artist of life, "never lay straight" in bed, "like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/there-is-a-certain-proper-and-luxurious-way-of-lying-in-bed-confucius/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [All I lay is straight pipe. Hit her from behind, it dont matter what her face like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ti/all-i-lay-is-straight-pipe-hit-her-from-behind-it-dont-matter-what/) TI > [I don't like to look at myself in the mirror, which is why my eye makeup is always crooked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-guinness/i-don-t-like-to-look-at-myself-in-the-mirror-which-is-why-my-eye/) [Daphne Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-guinness/) > [I'm talkin' about a good girl gone bad crooked world, wrong path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-talkin-about-a-good-girl-gone-bad-crooked-world-wrong-path/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He is crooked enough to hide behind a spiral staircase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey-margaret-ball/he-is-crooked-enough-to-hide-behind-a-spiral-staircase/) Anne McCaffrey & Margaret Ball > [I support all people on earth who have bodies like and unlike my body, skins and moles and old scars, secret and public hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-shihab-nye/i-support-all-people-on-earth-who-have-bodies-like-and-unlike-my-body/) [Naomi Shihab Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-shihab-nye/) > [The habit of taking the line of least resistance makes all rivers and some men crooked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-habit-of-taking-the-line-of-least-resistance-makes-all-rivers-and/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [When I meet a new person, something has to be a little off for me to consider them beautiful. It could be crooked teeth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/when-i-meet-a-new-person-something-has-to-be-a-little-off-for-me-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [I have crooked toes from wearing boots that didn't fit me because that's all I could afford as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lomu/i-have-crooked-toes-from-wearing-boots-that-didn-t-fit-me-because/) [Jonah Lomu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lomu/) > [Hey Sydney," she said, giving me a small, crooked smile as she entered the room. Her flashing, dark eyes were friendly, but they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/hey-sydney-she-said-giving-me-a-small-crooked-smile-as-she-entered/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) ## More by Charles Spurgeon > [The more holy, the more humble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/the-more-holy-the-more-humble/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [He is not humanity deified. He is not Godhead humanized. He is God. He is man. He is all that God is, and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/he-is-not-humanity-deified-he-is-not-godhead-humanized-he-is-god-he/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Lord, send Your life throughout the entire church. Visit Your church; restore sound doctrine and holy, earnest living. Take away from professing Christians their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/lord-send-your-life-throughout-the-entire-church-visit-your-church/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Christ came to bring healing to those who are spiritually sick-you say that you are perfectly well, so you must go your own way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/christ-came-to-bring-healing-to-those-who-are-spiritually-sick-you/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Who among you today is doing the most for your Master's kingdom? I will tell you. Lend me a spiritual thermometer by which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/who-among-you-today-is-doing-the-most-for-your-master-s-kingdom-i/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [I do not know when I am more perfectly happy than when I am weeping for sin at the foot of the cross.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/i-do-not-know-when-i-am-more-perfectly-happy-than-when-i-am-weeping/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Light physical is said by Solomon to be sweet, but gospel light is infinitely more precious, for it reveals eternal things, and ministers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/light-physical-is-said-by-solomon-to-be-sweet-but-gospel-light-is/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [If you are to go to Christ, do not put on your good doings and feelings, or you will get nothing. Go in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-are-to-go-to-christ-do-not-put-on-your-good-doings-and/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Don't you know that day dawns after night, showers displace drought, and spring and summer follow winter? Then, have hope! Hope forever, for God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/don-t-you-know-that-day-dawns-after-night-showers-displace-drought/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“A mother can translate baby-talk: she comprehends incomprehensible noises. Even so doth our Father in heaven know all about our poor baby talk, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/a-mother-can-translate-baby-talk-she-comprehends-incomprehensible/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [God is our portion, Christ our companion, the Spirit our Comforter, Earth our lodge, and Heaven is our home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/god-is-our-portion-christ-our-companion-the-spirit-our-comforter/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Jesus poured out his soul in life before he poured it out unto death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/jesus-poured-out-his-soul-in-life-before-he-poured-it-out-unto-death/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [If we want revivals, we must revive our reverence for the Word of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-we-want-revivals-we-must-revive-our-reverence-for-the-word-of-god/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Believe only half of the praise and half of the criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/believe-only-half-of-the-praise-and-half-of-the-criticism/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) [Explore all 1,523 Charles Spurgeon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) ## More Crooked quotes > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. What has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul/like-a-morning-dream-life-becomes-more-and-more-bright-the-longer-we/) [Jean Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul/) > [Hey Sydney," she said, giving me a small, crooked smile as she entered the room. Her flashing, dark eyes were friendly, but they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/hey-sydney-she-said-giving-me-a-small-crooked-smile-as-she-entered/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I have crooked toes from wearing boots that didn't fit me because that's all I could afford as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lomu/i-have-crooked-toes-from-wearing-boots-that-didn-t-fit-me-because/) [Jonah Lomu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lomu/) > [When I meet a new person, something has to be a little off for me to consider them beautiful. It could be crooked teeth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/when-i-meet-a-new-person-something-has-to-be-a-little-off-for-me-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [The habit of taking the line of least resistance makes all rivers and some men crooked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-habit-of-taking-the-line-of-least-resistance-makes-all-rivers-and/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I support all people on earth who have bodies like and unlike my body, skins and moles and old scars, secret and public hair,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-shihab-nye/i-support-all-people-on-earth-who-have-bodies-like-and-unlike-my-body/) [Naomi Shihab Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-shihab-nye/) > [“He is crooked enough to hide behind a spiral staircase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-mccaffrey-margaret-ball/he-is-crooked-enough-to-hide-behind-a-spiral-staircase/) Anne McCaffrey & Margaret Ball > [I'm talkin' about a good girl gone bad crooked world, wrong path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-talkin-about-a-good-girl-gone-bad-crooked-world-wrong-path/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like to look at myself in the mirror, which is why my eye makeup is always crooked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-guinness/i-don-t-like-to-look-at-myself-in-the-mirror-which-is-why-my-eye/) [Daphne Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-guinness/) > [The desires of the heart...are as crooked as a corkscrew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-stone/the-desires-of-the-heart-are-as-crooked-as-a-corkscrew/) [Robert Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-stone/) > [ “CLOV \[sadly\] No one that ever lived ever thought so crooked as we.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/clov-sadly-no-one-that-ever-lived-ever-thought-so-crooked-as-we/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [Washington has a mysterious power to turn perfectly reasonable, wholesome, well-meaning human beings into equivocating crooked gasbags.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harsanyi/washington-has-a-mysterious-power-to-turn-perfectly-reasonable/) [David Harsanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harsanyi/) > [John Kerry described his Republican critics as 'the most crooked, lying group I've ever seen.' Now, that's saying something, because Kerry's both a lawyer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/john-kerry-described-his-republican-critics-as-the-most-crooked-lying/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [The privilege of ruling would be in the hands of the skilled and the learned, with a wide scope left for profitable crooked deals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/the-privilege-of-ruling-would-be-in-the-hands-of-the-skilled-and-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“Between the whiskers scraggling down his neck and the now-crooked glasses, he could have been the Black Allen Ginsberg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-risk-hallberg/between-the-whiskers-scraggling-down-his-neck-and-the-now-crooked/) [Garth Risk Hallberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-risk-hallberg/) Browse all 376 Crooked quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a crooked stick is before you, you need not explain how crooked it is. 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