QuoteProject
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Action is more valuable than words, implying that doing the right thing holds greater significance than merely talking about it.

This quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer emphasizes the importance of taking meaningful action over simply discussing ideals. It suggests that a single act of true obedience or following through on one's principles carries more weight and makes a greater impact than numerous sermons or speeches that lack real commitment. Bonhoeffer, a theologian and martyr, understood the profound necessity of living out one's faith and values in tangible ways, highlighting that genuine actions resonate more deeply than words alone.

Themes

ObedienceActionSermonsFaithCommitment

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about community service, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of volunteering.

More from Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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
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

Similar quotes

Here's why this matters: Studies show that a person who is interrupted takes 50 percent longer to accomplish a task. Not only that, he or she makes up to 50 percent more errors.
John MedinaRead
I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values - and follow my own moral compass - then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.
Michelle ObamaRead
Come, live with the doors of the senses guarded, diligent and mindful, vigilant and mindful, with the ways of the mind well watched, possessed of a mind that is awake and observing.
Gautama BuddhaRead
You know, my main reaction to this money thing is that it's humorous, all the attention to it, because it's hardly the most insightful or valuable thing that's happened to me.
Steve JobsRead
Many a genius has been slow of growth. Oaks that flourish for a thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed.
George Henry LewesRead
To develop our real selves, we need time alone for thought and meditation. To be always giving out and never pumping in, the well runs dry.
Elizabeth Cady StantonRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.