--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: God has no needs. Human love, as Plato…" description: "\"God has no needs. Human love, as Plato teaches us, is the child of Poverty – of want or lack; it is caused by a real or supposed goal in its beloved wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/anonymous-1_beloved_god-has-no-needs-human-love-as-plato-tea_2117446.jpg" --- # God has no needs. Human love, as Plato teaches us, is the… ![“God has no needs. Human love, as Plato teaches us, is the child of Poverty – of want or lack; it is caused by a real or supposed goal in its beloved which the lover needs and desires. But God's love, far from being caused by goodness in the object, causes all the goodness which the object has…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/anonymous-1_beloved_god-has-no-needs-human-love-as-plato-tea_2117446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/anonymous-1_beloved_god-has-no-needs-human-love-as-plato-tea_2117446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/763/anonymous-1_beloved_god-has-no-needs-human-love-as-plato-tea_2117446.jpg) > “God has no needs. Human love, as Plato teaches us, is the child of Poverty – of want or lack; it is caused by a real or supposed goal in its beloved which the lover needs and desires. But God's love, far from being caused by goodness in the object, causes all the goodness which the object has, loving it first into existence, and then into real, though derivative, lovability. God is Goodness. He can give good, but cannot need or get it. In that sense , His love is, as it were, bottomlessly selfless by very definition; it has everything to give, and nothing to receive.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine love is selfless and originates from God's inherent goodness, not from any need or desire. **In simple terms:** God loves without needing anything; love is pure giving. Key Takeaway Embrace selfless love and generosity. Themes divine love selflessness goodness philosophy Mood reverent inspirational Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - spiritual practice - charitable acts - personal growth Key Concepts theology ethics Plato Questions to Reflect On - Can you practice love without expecting anything in return? - What does selfless love look like in daily life? A Different Perspective Human love often seeks reciprocity, unlike the described divine love. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beloved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Causes Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes-goodness-4303828/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Derivatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/derivatives/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desires God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires-god-1189584/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [God love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-love/) [God Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-needs/) [God'S Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-s-love/) [God-s-love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-s-love-2/) [Goodness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goodness/) [His love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his-love/) [Human love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-love/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Needs Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-desires-409558/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plato/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Selfless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfless/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [“You can trust God with your needs and your desires.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hawkes-valente-sarah/you-can-trust-god-with-your-needs-and-your-desires/) [Hawkes Valente, Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hawkes-valente-sarah/) > [If goodness has causes, it is not goodness; if it has effects, a reward, it is not goodness either. So goodness is outside the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-goodness-has-causes-it-is-not-goodness-if-it-has-effects-a-reward/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Our body has this defect that, the more it is provided care and comforts, the more needs and desires it finds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-body-has-this-defect-that-the-more-it-is-provided-care-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You may want to take stock of your feelings, emotional needs, and desires. You may be harboring some unrealistic expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-may-want-to-take-stock-of-your-feelings-emotional-needs-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When the healthy pursuit of self-interest and self-realizatio n turns into self-absorption , other people can lose their intrinsic value in our eyes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-the-healthy-pursuit-of-self-interest-and-self-realizatio-n-turns/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Buddha says: Life should be simple, not complex. Life should be based on needs, not on desires. Needs are perfectly okay: you need food,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddha-says-life-should-be-simple-not-complex-life-should-be-based-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-if-you-love-and-must-needs-have-desires-let-these-be-your-desires-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One of the hardest jobs in ministry is keeping your own relationship with God where it needs to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-hardest-jobs-in-ministry-is-keeping-your-own-relationship/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The good die young because God needs them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-good-die-young-because-god-needs-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When God needs his angels home, he comes calling. Life is too short.Cherish your loved ones at all times. You never know what today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-god-needs-his-angels-home-he-comes-calling-life-is-too-short/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The church of God needs the power of God to fulfil the mandate of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-church-of-god-needs-the-power-of-god-to-fulfil-the-mandate-of-god/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To follow Jesus implies that we enter into a way of life that is given character and shape and direction by the one who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-follow-jesus-implies-that-we-enter-into-a-way-of-life-that-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I really enjoyed the sort of real crazy, eclectic layering stuff and how it all worked together. I could tell it was some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-really-enjoyed-the-sort-of-real-crazy-eclectic-layering-stuff-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fantasy-remains-a-human-right-we-make-in-our-measure-and-in-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone wants to be loved. But first we must make ourselves lovable. We must prepare ourselves to be loved. We do this by becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-wants-to-be-loved-but-first-we-must-make-ourselves-lovable/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Beloved quotes > [My Chosen Daughter, No one can define you without your permission. I want you to be so secure in who you are in Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/my-chosen-daughter-no-one-can-define-you-without-your-permission-i/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/god/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I made you, dear, and all I make is perfect. Please come close, for I desire you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/i-made-you-dear-and-all-i-make-is-perfect-please-come-close-for-i/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [My beloved like a jewel on my crown, In my vast and blue sky you are like a full-moon. I wish to stay entrapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjan-dey/my-beloved-like-a-jewel-on-my-crown-in-my-vast-and-blue-sky-you-are/) [Ranjan Dey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjan-dey/) > [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Rest you well, beloved Jesus, Caesar’s Lord and Israel’s King, In the brooding of the Spirit, in the darkness of the spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/rest-you-well-beloved-jesus-caesar-s-lord-and-israel-s-king-in-the/) [N. T. 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So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Browse all 1,440 Beloved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "God has no needs. Human love, as Plato teaches us, is the child of Poverty – of want or lack; it is caused by a real or supposed goal in its beloved which the lover needs and desires. But God's love, far from being caused by goodness in the object, causes all the goodness which the object has, loving it first into existence, and then into real, though derivative, lovability. God is Goodness. He can give good, but cannot need or get it. 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