--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Evil is maybe lying to God. Or better…" description: "\"Evil is maybe lying to God. Or better, lying to love.\" — Anne Sexton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/anne-sexton-645_evil_evil-is-maybe-lying-to-god-or-better-lyi_2746210.png" --- # Evil is maybe lying to God. Or better, lying to love. ![“Evil is maybe lying to God. Or better, lying to love.” quote by Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/anne-sexton-645_evil_evil-is-maybe-lying-to-god-or-better-lyi_2746210.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/anne-sexton-645_evil_evil-is-maybe-lying-to-god-or-better-lyi_2746210.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ab/anne-sexton-645_evil_evil-is-maybe-lying-to-god-or-better-lyi_2746210.png) > “Evil is maybe lying to God. Or better, lying to love.” [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Equates evil with lying to God or to love, suggesting moral failure stems from deceit toward higher values. **In simple terms:** Evil is lying to love. Key Takeaway Speak truth to love. Themes morality spirituality love Mood somber reflective Type poetic ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - faith practice - conflict resolution Key Concepts theology ethics Questions to Reflect On - What lies harm your love? - How does honesty affect spirituality? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex moral contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) ## Related quotes > [“Oh, yes, we'll be in chains, and there will be no freedom, but then, in our great grief, we will arise once more into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/oh-yes-we-ll-be-in-chains-and-there-will-be-no-freedom-but-then-in/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Perhaps I really was disillusioned; unable to see myself for who, and what, I really was. Maybe I really was an ungrateful wretch who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-northup/perhaps-i-really-was-disillusioned-unable-to-see-myself-for-who-and/) [J M Northup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-northup/) > [“How weak the mind is when it wants to forget. Maybe you didn't forget. Maybe you're lying. Is it a lie you tell everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nbdycrs/how-weak-the-mind-is-when-it-wants-to-forget-maybe-you-didn-t-forget/) [Nbdycrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nbdycrs/) > [“Paimon would never believe the lie I was about to tell. That was the really weird thing about evil. Lying to God was better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancy/paimon-would-never-believe-the-lie-i-was-about-to-tell-that-was-the/) Rick Yancy > [I remembered Nahadoth's lips on my throat and fought to suppress a shudder, only half succeeding. Death as a consequence of lying with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/i-remembered-nahadoth-s-lips-on-my-throat-and-fought-to-suppress-a/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [“Maybe you're lying here because you don't want to be standing anywhere else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-piven/maybe-you-re-lying-here-because-you-don-t-want-to-be-standing/) [Jeremy Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-piven/) > [You will Love me and I will end up Lying to you that I LOVE YOU TOO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junior-d-r-l-testament/you-will-love-me-and-i-will-end-up-lying-to-you-that-i-love-you-too/) Junior Dè Rèál Testament > [If someone says to you I Think I Love You, she/he is lying, because love comes from heart not the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-someone-says-to-you-i-think-i-love-you-she-he-is-lying-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I thought, lying there, that I might love him for the rest of my life. We did love each other—maybe we never said it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-thought-lying-there-that-i-might-love-him-for-the-rest-of-my-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I thought, lying there, that I might love him for the rest of my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-thought-lying-there-that-i-might-love-him-for-the-rest-of-my-life-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“We take comfort in the notion of an unbridgeable gulf between good and evil, but maybe we should understand, as Zimbardo's work suggested, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-bauer/we-take-comfort-in-the-notion-of-an-unbridgeable-gulf-between-good/) Shane Bauer > [“If we believe that god is the creator of evil, maybe there is evil also in heaven, if that is the case, we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/if-we-believe-that-god-is-the-creator-of-evil-maybe-there-is-evil/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [“You're only two handshakes away from evil… Maybe it's the same thing with goodness. We're never far from what's good… It doesn't seem like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-kazinski/you-re-only-two-handshakes-away-from-evil-maybe-it-s-the-same-thing/) [A.J. Kazinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-kazinski/) > [Some said the original evil was the vacuum caused by the Fairy Queen Lurline leaving us alone here. When goodness removes itself, the space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/some-said-the-original-evil-was-the-vacuum-caused-by-the-fairy-queen/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“Around me the beautiful windows, connecting me to other lives and other times, to things done and also deliberately left undone, stood dark. Rose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-edwards/around-me-the-beautiful-windows-connecting-me-to-other-lives-and/) [Kim Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-edwards/) ## More by Anne Sexton > [Blind with love, my daughter has cried nightly for horses, those long-necked marchers and churners that she has mastered, any and all, reigning them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/blind-with-love-my-daughter-has-cried-nightly-for-horses-those-long/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I am crazy as hell, but I know it. And knowing it is a kind of sanity that makes the sickness worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-am-crazy-as-hell-but-i-know-it-and-knowing-it-is-a-kind-of-sanity/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [And what of the dead? They lie without shoes in the stone boats. They are more like stone than the sea would be if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/and-what-of-the-dead-they-lie-without-shoes-in-the-stone-boats-they/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [The Witch's Life" When I was a child there was an old woman in our neighborhood whom we called The Witch. All day she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/the-witch-s-life-when-i-was-a-child-there-was-an-old-woman-in-our/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I have forgiven all the old actors for dying. A new one comes on with the same lines, like large white growths, in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-have-forgiven-all-the-old-actors-for-dying-a-new-one-comes-on-with/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“From the Garden” Come, my beloved, consider the lilies. We are of little faith. We talk too much. Put your mouthful of words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/from-the-garden-come-my-beloved-consider-the-lilies-we-are-of-little/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Oh thumb, I want a drink it is dark, where are the big people, when will I get there...?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/oh-thumb-i-want-a-drink-it-is-dark-where-are-the-big-people-when-will/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I want to kiss God on His nose and watch Him sneeze and so do you. Not out of disrespect. Out of pique. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-want-to-kiss-god-on-his-nose-and-watch-him-sneeze-and-so-do-you-not/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I, in my brand new body, which was not a woman's yet, told the stars my questions and thought God could really see the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-in-my-brand-new-body-which-was-not-a-woman-s-yet-told-the-stars-my/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Father, you died once, salted down at fifty-nine, packed down like a big snow angel, wasn't that enough?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/father-you-died-once-salted-down-at-fifty-nine-packed-down-like-a-big/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [When I'm writing, I know I'm doing the thing I was born to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/when-i-m-writing-i-know-i-m-doing-the-thing-i-was-born-to-do/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Cinderella and the prince lived, they say, happily ever after, like two dolls in a museum case never bothered by diapers or dust, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/cinderella-and-the-prince-lived-they-say-happily-ever-after-like-two/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [“Quite collected at cocktail parties, meanwhile in my head I'm undergoing open-heart surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/quite-collected-at-cocktail-parties-meanwhile-in-my-head-i-m/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [I cannot walk an inch / without trying to walk to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/i-cannot-walk-an-inch-without-trying-to-walk-to-god/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [Now that I have written many words, and let out so many loves, for so many, and been altogether what I always was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/now-that-i-have-written-many-words-and-let-out-so-many-loves-for-so/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) [Explore all 428 Anne Sexton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Evil is maybe lying to God. 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