--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would not be practicing love toward God…" description: "\"“I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour if I were to smile benignly on an unjust social order. It is not charitable to refrain from ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/alan-jacobs-22461_condemnation_i-would-not-be-practicing-love-toward-go_754565.jpg" --- # I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour… ![“I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour if I were to smile benignly on an unjust social order. It is not charitable to refrain from moral judgment: when Jesus says 'Judge not, lest ye be judged," he is forbidding condemnation, not discernment. There are times indeed when…” quote by Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/alan-jacobs-22461_condemnation_i-would-not-be-practicing-love-toward-go_754565.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/alan-jacobs-22461_condemnation_i-would-not-be-practicing-love-toward-go_754565.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/df3/alan-jacobs-22461_condemnation_i-would-not-be-practicing-love-toward-go_754565.jpg) > ““I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour if I were to smile benignly on an unjust social order. It is not charitable to refrain from moral judgment: when Jesus says 'Judge not, lest ye be judged," he is forbidding condemnation, not discernment. There are times indeed when Christian charity demands that one speak forcibly.”” [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True Christian love demands active moral judgment, not passive acceptance of injustice. **In simple terms:** Love requires speaking against injustice. Key Takeaway Actively confront injustice. Themes justice faith morality Mood serious thoughtful Type theological ethical When to use this quote - social activism - church leadership - personal conviction Key Concepts ethical responsibility prophetic witness Questions to Reflect On - When should love be confrontational? - How do you balance compassion with judgment? 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To declare that “everybody is white” or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/indiscriminate-tolerance-and-indiscriminate-condemnation-are-not-two-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“The only measure of judging a human being is through that person’s character, because character is not determined by race, religion, gender or social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-only-measure-of-judging-a-human-being-is-through-that-person-s/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Millionaires don't judge but connect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-artner/millionaires-don-t-judge-but-connect/) [Dee Dee Artner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-artner/) > [“Never judge someone's character based on the words of another. Instead, study the motives behind the words of the person casting the bad judgment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/never-judge-someone-s-character-based-on-the-words-of-another-instead/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“Judging is giving too much value on the surface and missing the value beneath”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-dee-artner/judging-is-giving-too-much-value-on-the-surface-and-missing-the-value/) [Dee Dee Artner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-dee-artner/) > [“One of the easiest things in life is to judge others. One of the simplest things we can ever do is to tell how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/one-of-the-easiest-things-in-life-is-to-judge-others-one-of-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [Historical explanation is not identical with moral judgment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moses-finley/historical-explanation-is-not-identical-with-moral-judgment/) [Moses Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moses-finley/) > [Moral judgment is not life-giving; love that transcends the boundaries of judgment as Jesus' love did, is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/moral-judgment-is-not-life-giving-love-that-transcends-the-boundaries/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [A perverted moral judgment belongs to the dogmatic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/a-perverted-moral-judgment-belongs-to-the-dogmatic-system/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“There must be an objective moral law; otherwise: (a) There would not be such great agreement on its meaning. (b) No real moral disagreements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-must-be-an-objective-moral-law-otherwise-a-there-would-not-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm very interested in why we do good things, or bad things, and where moral judgments come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-m-very-interested-in-why-we-do-good-things-or-bad-things-and-where/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Kant regards the universalizability test for maxims as focused on a very special sort of situation: one where the agent is tempted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kant-regards-the-universalizability-test-for-maxims-as-focused-on-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Suspending moral judgment is not the immorality of the novel; it is its morality. The morality that stands against the ineradicable human habit of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/suspending-moral-judgment-is-not-the-immorality-of-the-novel-it-is/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Since position and contact play so big a part in determining what can be seen, heard, read, and experienced, as well as what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/since-position-and-contact-play-so-big-a-part-in-determining-what-can/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [A judge found it constitutionally intolerable that Louisiana should interject 'religious beliefs and moral judgments into teaching.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-murchison/a-judge-found-it-constitutionally-intolerable-that-louisiana-should/) [William Murchison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-murchison/) ## More by Alan Jacobs > [“Objections to Christianity... are phrased in words, but that does not mean that they are really a matter of language and analysis and argument.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/objections-to-christianity-are-phrased-in-words-but-that-does-not/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“So let me conclude this chapter with a celebration of splitting--of the disciplined, principled preference for rejecting categories whenever we discern them at work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/so-let-me-conclude-this-chapter-with-a-celebration-of-splitting-of/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“…the blogosphere is the friend of information but the enemy of thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/the-blogosphere-is-the-friend-of-information-but-the-enemy-of-thought/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“a first encounter with a worthwhile book is never a complete encounter, and we are usually in error to make it a final one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/a-first-encounter-with-a-worthwhile-book-is-never-a-complete/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“So the books are waiting. Of this you may be confident: they'll be ready when the whim strikes you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/so-the-books-are-waiting-of-this-you-may-be-confident-they-ll-be/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“And yet rereading a book can often be a more significant, dramatic, and, yes, new experience than encountering an unfamiliar work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/and-yet-rereading-a-book-can-often-be-a-more-significant-dramatic-and/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“The Virtue and unpretentiousness of the wise man, which I am talking about, goes unnoticed because of its transparent ordinariness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/the-virtue-and-unpretentiousness-of-the-wise-man-which-i-am-talking/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Great books are great in part because of what they ask of their readers: they are not readily encountered, easily assessed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/great-books-are-great-in-part-because-of-what-they-ask-of-their/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“T. S. Eliot wrote almost a century ago about a phenomenon that he believed to be the product of the nineteenth century: “When there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/t-s-eliot-wrote-almost-a-century-ago-about-a-phenomenon-that-he/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Christian writers, whether they like it or not, do not simply write for themselves; for good or ill, readers will see their work as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/christian-writers-whether-they-like-it-or-not-do-not-simply-write-for/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“The blessing of Google is its uncanny skill in finding what you're looking for; the curse is that it so rarely finds any of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/the-blessing-of-google-is-its-uncanny-skill-in-finding-what-you-re/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Dehaene even allows himself a few moments of (justifiable) annoyance at the way that "childhood reading experts" continue their debates about the best strategies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/dehaene-even-allows-himself-a-few-moments-of-justifiable-annoyance-at/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“Slow down. Make a point of revisiting passages that seem especially rich, or especially confusing, or for that matter especially offensive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/slow-down-make-a-point-of-revisiting-passages-that-seem-especially/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“For heaven’s sake, don’t turn reading into the intellectual equivalent of eating organic greens, or (shifting the metaphor slightly) some fearfully disciplined appointment with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/for-heaven-s-sake-don-t-turn-reading-into-the-intellectual-equivalent/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) > [“In a lovely book called On Hope, Josef Pieper explores Thomas Aquinas' theology of hope along these lines: the hopeful person is by definition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jacobs/in-a-lovely-book-called-on-hope-josef-pieper-explores-thomas-aquinas/) [Alan Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) [Explore all 27 Alan Jacobs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jacobs/) ## More Condemnation quotes > [“Jesus came to give his righteousness not to condemn the unrighteous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-canoza/jesus-came-to-give-his-righteousness-not-to-condemn-the-unrighteous/) [Mac Canoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-canoza/) > [“Author describes that a failed sea captain, "vacillated miserably between self-recrimination and defensiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wheelan/author-describes-that-a-failed-sea-captain-vacillated-miserably/) [Joseph Wheelan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wheelan/) > [Bring everything up to the surface. Accept your humanity, your animality. Whatsoever is there, accept it without any condemnation. Acceptance is transformation, because through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/bring-everything-up-to-the-surface-accept-your-humanity-your/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [If it is not strong upon your heart to practice what you read, to what end do you read? To increase your own condemnation?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/if-it-is-not-strong-upon-your-heart-to-practice-what-you-read-to-what/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [A father may turn his back on his child, brothers and sisters may become inveterate enemies, husbands may desert their wives, wives their husbands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-father-may-turn-his-back-on-his-child-brothers-and-sisters-may/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [“The mind, stretched to new dimensions by images, thoughts and ideas, can never return to its former shape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-luedke/the-mind-stretched-to-new-dimensions-by-images-thoughts-and-ideas-can/) [Travis Luedke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-luedke/) > [“as then the condemnation of sinners extended to others who approved of them, and joined in their society; so also is it the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/as-then-the-condemnation-of-sinners-extended-to-others-who-approved/) [The Church Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-fathers/) > [For me, one of the most disturbing elements of the right wing's political agenda is that it believes that there is one correct spiritual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/for-me-one-of-the-most-disturbing-elements-of-the-right-wing-s/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [Why is there this criminal indifference to the lostness of men? Our condemnation is that we know how to live better than we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/why-is-there-this-criminal-indifference-to-the-lostness-of-men-our/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Condemnation without investigation is the height of ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/condemnation-without-investigation-is-the-height-of-ignorance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The answer of course, is that the clock isn't meant to measure earthly time, but the time of the soul. Redemption and condemnation time.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/the-answer-of-course-is-that-the-clock-isn-t-meant-to-measure-earthly/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [Wal-Mart has become the whipping boy for political demagogues, unions and anti-traders. I suggest that they have the wrong target… Wal-Mart exists and prospers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/wal-mart-has-become-the-whipping-boy-for-political-demagogues-unions/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [Corruption, the most infallible symptom of constitutional liberty, was successfully practised; honours, gifts, and immunities were offered and accepted as the price of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/corruption-the-most-infallible-symptom-of-constitutional-liberty-was/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [I wish that we had much more of the Spirit of Christ and a great deal less self, and less of human opinions. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/i-wish-that-we-had-much-more-of-the-spirit-of-christ-and-a-great-deal/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [Reaching into one's own pocket to assist his fellow man is noble and worthy of praise. Reaching into another person's pocket to assist one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/reaching-into-one-s-own-pocket-to-assist-his-fellow-man-is-noble-and/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) [Browse all 302 Condemnation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemnation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour if I were to smile benignly on an unjust social order. It is not charitable to refrain from moral judgment: when Jesus says 'Judge not, lest ye be judged,\" he is forbidding condemnation, not discernment. 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