A home is a kingdom of it's own in the midst of the world, a stronghold amid life's storms and stresses, a refuge, even a sanctuary.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
We do God’s work for our brothers and sisters when we learn to listen to them. So often Christians, especially preachers, think that their only service is always to have to 'offer' something when they are together with other people. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people seek a sympathetic ear and do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking even when they should be listening.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Listening to others is a profound way to serve and connect, often more valuable than speech.
In this quote, Dietrich Bonhoeffer emphasizes the importance of listening as a form of service to others, particularly within the Christian community. He points out that many individuals seek understanding and empathy rather than advice or solutions, and that the act of being present and attentive can be far more beneficial than simply speaking. By encouraging Christians to prioritize listening, Bonhoeffer highlights the role of compassion and understanding in fostering genuine connections and support among brothers and sisters.
Themes
ListeningServiceCompassionEmpathyCommunicationChristianity
In practice
Example use cases
During a community gathering, one might say, 'As Dietrich Bonhoeffer reminds us, sometimes the greatest service we can offer is simply listening to one another.'
More from Dietrich Bonhoeffer
All quotes →In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
Sometimes we just need a firm kick in the pants. An unsmiling expectation that if we mean all these wonderful things we talk about and sing about, then let’s see something to prove it.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
It is God's earth out of which man is taken. From it he has his body. His body belongs to his essential being. Man's body is not his prison, his shell his exterior, but man himself. Man does not "have" a body; he does not "have" a soul; rather he "is" body and soul. Man in the beginning is really his body. He is one. He is his body, as Christ is completely his body, as the Church is the body of Christ
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
Anyone who thinks that his time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet will eventually have no time for God and his brother, but only for himself and for his own follies.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead
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