A dogmatic belief in objective value is necessary to the very idea of a rule which is not tyranny or an obedience which is not slavery.
C. S. LewisRead
Do not waste time bothering whether you "love" your neighbor; act as if you did.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Acting with love towards others can cultivate genuine feelings of love.
C. S. Lewis suggests that the act of caring for others should not be contingent on our feelings. By behaving as if we love our neighbors, we can create a positive environment that fosters genuine love and connection, regardless of our initial emotions.
Themes
LoveActNeighborsEmpathyKindness
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote during a community service event to inspire volunteers.
More from C. S. Lewis
All quotes βI enjoyed my breakfast this morning, and I think that was a good thing and do not think it was condemned by God. But I do not think myself a good man for enjoying it.
C. S. LewisRead
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
C. S. LewisRead
Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.
C. S. LewisRead
I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. It doesn't change God - it changes me.
C. S. LewisRead
The instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man's self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred
C. S. LewisRead
Similar quotes
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Martin Luther King, Jr.Read
It was you I thought of all the time, I gave to them the love you did not need: lavished on them a love that was not theirs.
Oscar WildeRead
The God of love my shepherd is, And he that doth me feed: While he is mine, and I am his, What can I want or need?
George HerbertRead
The places in our personality where we tend to deviate from love are not out faults, but our wounds. God doesn't want to punish us, but to heal us. And that is how He wishes us to view the wounds in other people.
Marianne WilliamsonRead
The man who foolishly does me wrong, I will return to him the protection of my most ungrudging love; and the more evil comes from him, the more good shall go from me.
Gautama BuddhaRead
There comes a holy _x000D_ and transparent time _x000D_ when every touch _x000D_ of beauty _x000D_ opens the heart _x000D_ to tears. _x000D_ This is the time _x000D_ the Beloved of heaven _x000D_ is brought tenderly on earth. _x000D_ This is the time _x000D_ of the opening _x000D_ of the ROSE.
RumiRead