Remember that if the opportunities for great deeds should never come, the opportunities for good deeds are renewed day by day. The thing for us to long for is the goodness, not the glory.
Frederick William FaberRead
Kindness has converted more sinners than either zeal, eloquence, or learning; and these three last have never converted any.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Kindness is more effective in changing hearts than passion, speech, or knowledge.
This quote emphasizes the transformative power of kindness over more assertive qualities such as zeal, eloquence, and academic learning. Faber suggests that while enthusiasm and knowledge are valuable, it is the gentle approach of kindness that truly resonates with individuals and fosters genuine change in their attitudes and behaviors.
Themes
KindnessTransformationChangeCompassionWisdom
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote in a discussion about the importance of kindness in social work.
More from Frederick William Faber
All quotes βWe can exaggerate about many things; but we can never exaggerate our obligation to Jesus, or the compassionate abundance of the love of Jesus to us. All our lives long we might talk of Jesus, and yet we should never come to an end of the sweet things that might be said of Him.
Frederick William FaberRead
Happiness is a great power of holiness. Thus, kind words, by their power of producing happiness, have also a power of producing holiness, and so of winning men to God.
Frederick William FaberRead
Kindness has converted more sinners than zeal, eloquence, or learning.
Frederick William FaberRead
The buried talent is the sunken rock on which most lives strike and founder.
Frederick William FaberRead
Kind thoughts are rarer than either kind words or deeds. They imply a great deal of thinking about others. This in itself is rare. But they also imply a great deal of thinking about others without the thoughts being criticisms. This is rarer still.
Frederick William FaberRead
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