--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Committing myself to the task of becoming…" description: "\"“Committing myself to the task of becoming fully human is saving my life now...to become fully human is something extra, a conscious choice that not ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/barbara-brown-taylor-3225_brothers-and-sisters_committing-myself-to-the-task-of-becomin_2700641.png" --- # Committing myself to the task of becoming fully human is… ![“Committing myself to the task of becoming fully human is saving my life now...to become fully human is something extra, a conscious choice that not everyone makes. Based on my limited wisdom and experience, there is more than one way to do this. If I were a Buddhist, I might do it by taking the…” quote by Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/barbara-brown-taylor-3225_brothers-and-sisters_committing-myself-to-the-task-of-becomin_2700641.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/barbara-brown-taylor-3225_brothers-and-sisters_committing-myself-to-the-task-of-becomin_2700641.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/824/barbara-brown-taylor-3225_brothers-and-sisters_committing-myself-to-the-task-of-becomin_2700641.png) > ““Committing myself to the task of becoming fully human is saving my life now...to become fully human is something extra, a conscious choice that not everyone makes. Based on my limited wisdom and experience, there is more than one way to do this. If I were a Buddhist, I might do it by taking the bodhisattva vow, and if I were a Jew, I might do it by following Torah. Because I am a Christian, I do it by imitating Christ, although i will be the first to admit that I want to stop about a day short of following him all the way. In Luke's gospel, there comes a point when he turns around and says to the large crowd of those trailing after him, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple" (14:26). Make of that what you will, but I think it was his way of telling them to go home. He did not need people to go to Jerusalem to die with him. He needed people to go back where they came from and live the kinds of lives that he had risked his own life to show them: lives of resisting the powers of death, of standing up for the little and the least, of turning cheeks and washing feet, of praying for enemies and loving the unlovable.”” [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Becoming fully human involves conscious, often difficult choices across traditions, emphasizing love, sacrifice, and service despite personal shortcomings. **In simple terms:** Choosing humanity requires love, sacrifice, and service. Key Takeaway Practice compassionate, self‑less actions. Themes humanity faith service Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - daily relationships - community work - interfaith practice - personal transformation Key Concepts spiritual growth ethical living Questions to Reflect On - What small acts can embody this commitment? - How do you reconcile imperfection with spiritual goals? A Different Perspective Human frailty can hinder consistent practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brothers and sisters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) [Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Father And Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-and-mother/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life itself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-itself/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [We have the Annunciation, the Conception, the Birth and the Adoration, as described in the first and second chapters of Luke's gospel; and as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-sharpe/we-have-the-annunciation-the-conception-the-birth-and-the-adoration/) Samuel Sharpe > [“The reality of life as His disciple, as one of "the sheep of his pasture" (Psalm 100:3), is a life of complete helplessness in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-austin/the-reality-of-life-as-his-disciple-as-one-of-the-sheep-of-his/) [Lynn Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-austin/) > [It is impossible to conduct your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/it-is-impossible-to-conduct-your-life-as-a-disciple-without-definite/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [We have the same genetic code for all living creatures. We have a large number of genes that are manifestly the same, but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-the-same-genetic-code-for-all-living-creatures-we-have-a/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I still find each day too short..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/i-still-find-each-day-too-short/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [That's the fun thing about fashion: it changes. 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I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cromwell/i-think-the-obligation-of-an-artist-is-to-make-a-difference-in-the/) [James Cromwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cromwell/) > [I love to change my hair... long one day, short the next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-robinson/i-love-to-change-my-hair-long-one-day-short-the-next/) [Angela Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-robinson/) > [For one swallow does not make a summer, nor does one day; and so too one day, or a short time, does not make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/for-one-swallow-does-not-make-a-summer-nor-does-one-day-and-so-too/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [He makes a July's day short as December.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/he-makes-a-july-s-day-short-as-december/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## More by Barbara Brown Taylor > [The poets began drifting away from churches as the jurists grew louder and more insistent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/the-poets-began-drifting-away-from-churches-as-the-jurists-grew/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [I decided I got to say whether I was Christian or not, and so I've relaxed enormously since then. I'm the one who gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/i-decided-i-got-to-say-whether-i-was-christian-or-not-and-so-i-ve/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [Having been brought up with a definition of faith as adherence to a set of beliefs, I have more and more begun to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/having-been-brought-up-with-a-definition-of-faith-as-adherence-to-a/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [I don't miss the ministry, because I'm completely engaged in it. In terms of parish ministry, I miss the intimacy with a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/i-don-t-miss-the-ministry-because-i-m-completely-engaged-in-it-in/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [ With all the conceptual truths in the universe at His disposal \[Jesus\] did not give them something to think about together when He was… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/with-all-the-conceptual-truths-in-the-universe-at-his-disposal-jesus/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [There comes a time when it is vitally important for your spiritual health to drop your clothes, look in the mirror, and say, ‘Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/there-comes-a-time-when-it-is-vitally-important-for-your-spiritual/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [The problem is, many of the people in need of saving are in churches, and at least part of what they need saving from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/the-problem-is-many-of-the-people-in-need-of-saving-are-in-churches/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [“I cannot say for sure when my reliable ideas about God began to slip away, but the big chest I used to keep them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/i-cannot-say-for-sure-when-my-reliable-ideas-about-god-began-to-slip/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [I love being alone. I learned that from my father, I think, who loved his own company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/i-love-being-alone-i-learned-that-from-my-father-i-think-who-loved/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [There was no time anymore to be quiet or still or pray. So, in many ways, that's what led to my downward spin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-brown-taylor/there-was-no-time-anymore-to-be-quiet-or-still-or-pray-so-in-many/) [Barbara Brown Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-brown-taylor/) > [The beauty in the losing is a loss finally of self-consciousness. There's a gorgeous moment that can happen in all kinds of places. 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And we have forgotten that the Number 1 goal is to love one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-richards/we-have-forgotten-to-be-our-brothers-and-sisters-keepers-and-we-have/) [Ann Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-richards/) > [The only siblings I have are half-siblings. My nuclear family would have been an extra-suffocating threesome. Instead, I have an interesting brother and sister,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/the-only-siblings-i-have-are-half-siblings-my-nuclear-family-would/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Brothers and sisters, white people will come in to chastise us. But since we are no longer forsaken, and are the people of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/brothers-and-sisters-white-people-will-come-in-to-chastise-us-but/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [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/) > [With a basic understanding of all humans as brothers and sisters, we can appreciate the usefulness of different systems and ideologies that can accommodate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/with-a-basic-understanding-of-all-humans-as-brothers-and-sisters-we/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [God helping me, I will help my brothers and sisters in Christ, because they are my brothers and sisters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-barber-lightfoot/god-helping-me-i-will-help-my-brothers-and-sisters-in-christ-because/) [Joseph Barber Lightfoot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-barber-lightfoot/) [Browse all 956 Brothers and sisters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothers-and-sisters/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Committing myself to the task of becoming fully human is saving my life now...to become fully human is something extra, a conscious choice that not everyone makes. 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