When prayer fades out, power fades out. We are as spiritual as we are prayerful; no more, no less.
E. Stanley JonesRead
Our intentions may be very good, but, because the intelligence is limited, the action may turn out to be a mistake - a mistake, but not necessarily a sin, for sin comes out of a wrong intention.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Good intentions do not always lead to good outcomes, as mistakes can occur despite our best efforts.
This quote highlights the difference between intention and outcome, suggesting that while we may have the best intentions behind our actions, our limited understanding can lead to mistakes. It emphasizes that mistakes are part of the human experience and should not be equated with moral failure, as sin arises from wrongful intentions rather than accidental errors.
Themes
IntentionsMistakesWisdomActionMorality
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about taking risks and learning from failure.
More from E. Stanley Jones
All quotes →The purpose of religion is not so much to get us into heaven, or to keep us out of hell, but to put a little bit of heaven into us, and take the hell out of us. This has always been the greatest responsibility of religion.
E. Stanley JonesRead
A Johns Hopkins doctor says that 'we do not know why it is that the worriers die sooner than the non-worriers, but that is a fact.' But I, who am simple of mind, think I know we are inwardly constructed, in nerve and tissue and brain cell and soul, for faith and not for fear. God made us that way. Therefore, the need of faith is not something imposed on us dogmatically, but it is written in us intrinsically. We cannot live without it. To live by worry is to live against Reality.
E. Stanley JonesRead
Worry and anxiety are sand in the machinery of life; faith is the oil.
E. Stanley JonesRead
An individual gospel without a social gospel is a soul without a body and a social gospel without an individual gospel is a body without a soul. One is a ghost, the other a corpse.
E. Stanley JonesRead
To implant fear in the minds of children is a crime. If parents try to rule the child by fear, then fear rules the child.
E. Stanley JonesRead
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