--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be forgiven is not enough; we must put…" description: "\"To be forgiven is not enough; we must put an end to the very need to be forgiven.\" — Bernadette Roberts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bernadette-roberts-28785_ends_to-be-forgiven-is-not-enough-we-must-put_3176400.jpg" --- # To be forgiven is not enough; we must put an end to the… ![“To be forgiven is not enough; we must put an end to the very need to be forgiven.” quote by Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bernadette-roberts-28785_ends_to-be-forgiven-is-not-enough-we-must-put_3176400.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bernadette-roberts-28785_ends_to-be-forgiven-is-not-enough-we-must-put_3176400.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ef/bernadette-roberts-28785_ends_to-be-forgiven-is-not-enough-we-must-put_3176400.jpg) > “To be forgiven is not enough; we must put an end to the very need to be forgiven.” [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True forgiveness requires eliminating the underlying desire for forgiveness, not just receiving it. **In simple terms:** Forgiveness isn’t enough; stop needing it. Key Takeaway Focus on inner transformation rather than seeking absolution. Themes forgiveness self‑growth spirituality inner peace Mood hopeful introspective serene Type spiritual motivational When to use this quote - personal relationships - conflict resolution - spiritual practice - self‑reflection Key Concepts Desire reduction self‑realization psychology Questions to Reflect On - How can one reduce the need for forgiveness? - What inner changes are needed for true forgiveness? A Different Perspective Changing deep desires can be extremely challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-need-618784/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Forgiven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiven/) [Forgiven End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiven-end-5802169/) [Forgiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgiveness/) [Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need/) [Need Forgiven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-forgiven-1637224/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) ## Related quotes > [He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/he-that-cannot-forgive-others-breaks-the-bridge-over-which-he-must/) [Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/) > [He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he must pass himself; for every man has need to be forgiven. --Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/he-that-cannot-forgive-others-breaks-the-bridge-over-which-he-must-2/) [Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/) > [“The truth is that very few understand the truth about forgiveness. It is not the culprits who need to be forgiven; rather it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-truth-is-that-very-few-understand-the-truth-about-forgiveness-it/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Our best works are shot through with sin and contain something for which we need to be forgiven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/our-best-works-are-shot-through-with-sin-and-contain-something-for/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [I don't need to fight / To prove I'm right / I don't need to be forgiven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-townshend/i-don-t-need-to-fight-to-prove-i-m-right-i-don-t-need-to-be-forgiven/) [Pete Townshend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-townshend/) > [But perhaps this is all to the good. Perhaps it’s best to live with the possibility that around any corner, at any time, may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-miller/but-perhaps-this-is-all-to-the-good-perhaps-it-s-best-to-live-with/) [Sue Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-miller/) > [He that cannot forgive others, breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven; for everyone has need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/he-that-cannot-forgive-others-breaks-the-bridge-over-which-he-himself/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [I seldom end up where I wanted to go, but almost always end up where I need to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/i-seldom-end-up-where-i-wanted-to-go-but-almost-always-end-up-where-i/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Keeping our eyes on journey's end is what we need - the place where we see at last the world that is greater than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/keeping-our-eyes-on-journey-s-end-is-what-we-need-the-place-where-we/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [“Why start something that you won’t see to the end? You need to finish what you start!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nabil-n-jamal-2/why-start-something-that-you-won-t-see-to-the-end-you-need-to-finish/) [Nabil N. Jamal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nabil-n-jamal-2/) > [“A story gives people some type of a handhold through their lives. They need to know that what they're doing now has a middle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-story-gives-people-some-type-of-a-handhold-through-their-lives-they/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the end, I need to be fulfilled in my work - that's more important than the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-r-knight/in-the-end-i-need-to-be-fulfilled-in-my-work-that-s-more-important/) [T. R. Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-r-knight/) > [Love sometimes end with nothing, we need to accept and free again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berlindo-bianes/love-sometimes-end-with-nothing-we-need-to-accept-and-free-again/) [Berlindo Bianes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berlindo-bianes/) > [At some point I realized that you don't get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-point-i-realized-that-you-don-t-get-a-full-human-life-if-you/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I find it strange that when you call some and your asking for help in some way they will often end the call with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-find-it-strange-that-when-you-call-some-and-your-asking-for-help-in/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) ## More by Bernadette Roberts > [When one is perfectly still-mind and body, silent and alone-there is no personality to speak of, thus personality is one's unique way of expression,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/when-one-is-perfectly-still-mind-and-body-silent-and-alone-there-is/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [The truest communication with God is absolute, total silence; there is not a single word in existence that can convey this communication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/the-truest-communication-with-god-is-absolute-total-silence-there-is/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [This search for perfection - which is a search for divinity - is nothing more than the failure to accept our existence the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/this-search-for-perfection-which-is-a-search-for-divinity-is-nothing/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [This journey then, is nothing more, yet nothing less than a period of acclimating to a new way of seeing, a time of transition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/this-journey-then-is-nothing-more-yet-nothing-less-than-a-period-of/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [It is one step, and a giant one, to see clearly and participate in the love that flows between the persons of the Trinity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/it-is-one-step-and-a-giant-one-to-see-clearly-and-participate-in-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [It is far more than the discovery of life without a self. The immediate, inevitable result is an emergence into a new dimension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/it-is-far-more-than-the-discovery-of-life-without-a-self-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [The assumption that the egoless condition, or union of self and God, is man's final goal and ultimate destiny is a great mistake. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/the-assumption-that-the-egoless-condition-or-union-of-self-and-god-is/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [But coming home that day, walking downhill with a panorama of valley and hills before me, I turned my gaze inward, and what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/but-coming-home-that-day-walking-downhill-with-a-panorama-of-valley/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [The onset of this second movement is characterized by the falling away of self and coming upon "that" which remains when it is gone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/the-onset-of-this-second-movement-is-characterized-by-the-falling/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [Spiritual life is like a moving sidewalk. Whether you go with it or spend your whole life running against it, you're still going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/spiritual-life-is-like-a-moving-sidewalk-whether-you-go-with-it-or/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [...a point is reached where the self is so completely aligned with the still-point that it can no longer be moved, even in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/a-point-is-reached-where-the-self-is-so-completely-aligned-with-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [When there is no longer a cyclone, there is no longer an eye. So the storms, crises and sufferings of life are a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/when-there-is-no-longer-a-cyclone-there-is-no-longer-an-eye-so-the/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [In some ways, all our experiences of God are beyond belief, because all conceptual beliefs pale when compared to the experiential reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/in-some-ways-all-our-experiences-of-god-are-beyond-belief-because-all/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [I went on to discover that in its deepest sense, the will is not primarily the faculty of desire for anything known, but rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-roberts/i-went-on-to-discover-that-in-its-deepest-sense-the-will-is-not/) [Bernadette Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-roberts/) > [Only God is love, and for this love to be fully realized self must step aside. 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I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. 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