My understanding of my faith is that - through a Christian framework - part of what we are called to do is to lay down our own self-interests, after the model of divinity that comes into this world in the form of Christ and lays down his life. And in order to do that, you have to care about something or someone more than yourself.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of selflessness and caring for others, modeled after Christ's example.
In this quote, Pete Buttigieg articulates a central tenet of Christian faith that encourages individuals to prioritize the needs and well-being of others over their own desires and interests. By referencing Christ, who selflessly gave His life for humanity, Buttigieg invites others to adopt a similar spirit of sacrifice and compassion in their lives, highlighting that to truly embody this principle, one must cultivate a deep care for others that surpasses their own self-interests.
In practice
In a speech about community service, one could use this quote to emphasize the value of helping others.
'Freedom' means a lot to conservatives, but they have such a narrow sense of what it means. They think a lot about freedom from - freedom from government, freedom from regulation - and precious little about freedom to. Freedom to is absolutely something that has to be safeguarded by good government, just as it could be impaired by bad government.
We need to intentionally invest in health, in home ownership, in entrepreneurship, in access to democracy, in economic empowerment. If we don't do these things, we shouldn't be surprised that racial inequality persists because inequalities compound.
Physically robust infrastructure is not enough if it fails to foster a healthy community; ultimately, all infrastructure is social.
So much of politics is about people's relationships with themselves. You do better if you make people feel secure in who they are.
Experiences with friends or family members coming out have helped millions of Americans to see past stereotypes and better understand what being gay is - and is not.
The most moving responses I got to my coming out in the first place was people, like teenagers, letting me know that it made their lives easier in some way.
As far as you can, get into the habit of asking yourself in relation to any action taken by another: "What is his point of reference here?" But begin with yourself: examine yourself first.
You can make some inferences about a man's character if you know something about the conditions in which he has survived and prospered.
It is our very search, our lust for the miraculous and magical, that hides from us the truth that simply to be, simply to know I am, is already the miracle that we seek. Everything, as it is, is perfect, but you must stop seeing it as if in a mirror, as if in a dream.
Upon the sacredness of property civilization itself depends-the right of the laborer to his hundred dollars in the savings bank, and equally the legal right of the millionaire to his millions.
The collective unconscious consists of the sum of the instincts and their correlates, the archetypes. Just as everybody possesses instincts, so he also possesses a stock of archetypal images.
No social system will bring us happiness, health and prosperity unless it is inspired by something greater than materialism.
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