--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Your natural life is derived from your…" description: "\"“Your natural life is derived from your parents; that does not mean it will stay there if you do nothing about it. You can lose it by neglect, or you c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/c-s-lewis-121_committing-suicide_your-natural-life-is-derived-from-your-p_770054.jpg" --- # Your natural life is derived from your parents; that does… ![“Your natural life is derived from your parents; that does not mean it will stay there if you do nothing about it. You can lose it by neglect, or you can drive it away by committing suicide. You have to feed it and look after it: but always remember you are not making it, you are only keeping up a…” quote by C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/c-s-lewis-121_committing-suicide_your-natural-life-is-derived-from-your-p_770054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/c-s-lewis-121_committing-suicide_your-natural-life-is-derived-from-your-p_770054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/71a/c-s-lewis-121_committing-suicide_your-natural-life-is-derived-from-your-p_770054.jpg) > ““Your natural life is derived from your parents; that does not mean it will stay there if you do nothing about it. You can lose it by neglect, or you can drive it away by committing suicide. You have to feed it and look after it: but always remember you are not making it, you are only keeping up a life you got from someone else. In the same way a Christian can lose the Christ-life which has been put into him, and he has to make efforts to keep it. But even the best Christian that ever lived is not acting on his own steam - he is only nourishing or protecting a life he could never have acquired by his own efforts.”” [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life is a gift inherited from others; it requires active care and effort to preserve, not just passive ownership. **In simple terms:** You must nurture the life you inherit. Key Takeaway Actively sustain your inherited life. Themes responsibility spiritual growth self‑care Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - daily routines - spiritual practice - relationships - career development Key Concepts faith existential purpose guardianship Questions to Reflect On - What daily habits nurture your sense of purpose? - How do you balance personal effort with reliance on others? A Different Perspective Neglect can be due to external pressures, not just personal choice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Christ Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christ-life-237294/) [Christian Lived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-lived-1045378/) [Committing suicide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/) [Keeping Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keeping-life-815890/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Derived](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-derived-1472539/) [Lose Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-christ-691217/) [Natural life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-life/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [We have to find our own purposes in life, which are not derived directly from our scientific history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-to-find-our-own-purposes-in-life-which-are-not-derived/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Surround yourself with people who make you happy. People who make you laugh, who help you when you’re in need. People who genuinely care.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/surround-yourself-with-people-who-make-you-happy-people-who-make-you-2/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“When we decide for ourselves how we want to conduct our lives on the basis of what is actually important to us, we discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-colier/when-we-decide-for-ourselves-how-we-want-to-conduct-our-lives-on-the/) [Nancy Colier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-colier/) > [It was not the outer granduer of the Roman but the inner simplicity of the Christian that lived through the ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/it-was-not-the-outer-granduer-of-the-roman-but-the-inner-simplicity/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [Even the best Christian that ever lived is not acting on his own steam--he is only nourishing or protecting a life he could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/even-the-best-christian-that-ever-lived-is-not-acting-on-his-own/) [C. 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Whether in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-eareckson-tada/into-art-or-music-how-about-that-exhilarating-moment-when-during-the/) [Joni Eareckson Tada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-eareckson-tada/) > [“It seems therefore more advisable, and more becoming both the faith and piety of Adam, and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, who accurately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-witsius/it-seems-therefore-more-advisable-and-more-becoming-both-the-faith/) [Herman Witsius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-witsius/) > [“A live body is not one that never gets hurt, but one that can to some extent repair itself. In the same way a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/a-live-body-is-not-one-that-never-gets-hurt-but-one-that-can-to-some/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“In a perfect Friendship this Appreciative love is, I think, often so great and so firmly based that each member of the circle feels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/in-a-perfect-friendship-this-appreciative-love-is-i-think-often-so/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [WHEN ITS OVER ITS OVER. THE ANTI-CHRIST WAS IN MY LIFE THE LORD SHOWED ME THE LIGHT. THE DEVIL STILL IS TRYING TO BRING…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-honey-gray/when-its-over-its-over-the-anti-christ-was-in-my-life-the-lord-showed/) [Lena Honey Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-honey-gray/) ## More by C.S. Lewis > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Isn’t it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified of the other?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a-fierce-left-and-a-fierce/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“All Hell is smaller than one pebble of your earthly world: but it is smaller than one atom of this world, the Real World.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-hell-is-smaller-than-one-pebble-of-your-earthly-world-but-it-is/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“the greatest service we can do to education today is to teach fewer subjects. No one has time to do more than a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-greatest-service-we-can-do-to-education-today-is-to-teach-fewer/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“If the Divine call does not make us better, it will make us very much worse. Of all bad men religious bad men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/if-the-divine-call-does-not-make-us-better-it-will-make-us-very-much/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-husband-is-the-head-of-the-wife-just-in-so-far-as-he-is-to-her/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“We use a most unfortunate idiom when we say, of a lustful man prowling the streets, that he "wants a woman". Strictly speaking, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/we-use-a-most-unfortunate-idiom-when-we-say-of-a-lustful-man-prowling/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Después de cada fracaso, pedid perdón, levantaos del suelo y volved a intentarlo. Muy a menudo, lo que Dios nos otorga primero no es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/despu-s-de-cada-fracaso-pedid-perd-n-levantaos-del-suelo-y-volved-a/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/then-two-wonders-happened-at-the-same-moment-one-was-that-the-voice/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/because-free-will-though-it-makes-evil-possible-is-also-the-only/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Laugh and fear not, creatures. Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/laugh-and-fear-not-creatures-now-that-you-are-no-longer-dumb-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/when-two-humans-have-lived-together-for-many-years-it-usually-happens/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“He sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/he-sees-as-well-as-you-do-that-courage-is-not-simply-one-of-the/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“If you do not take the distinction between good and bad very seriously, then it is easy to say that anything you find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/if-you-do-not-take-the-distinction-between-good-and-bad-very/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/now-the-whole-offer-which-christianity-makes-is-this-that-we-can-if/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) [Explore all 1,165 C.S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More Committing suicide quotes > [“Committing suicide essentially said to friends and loved ones and the world at large that you were the only thing that mattered, that your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-warren/committing-suicide-essentially-said-to-friends-and-loved-ones-and-the/) [Christine Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-warren/) > [Committing suicide so as not to be murdered is the worst reason I've ever heard of to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/committing-suicide-so-as-not-to-be-murdered-is-the-worst-reason-i-ve/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [Preventive war is like committing suicide out of fear of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/preventive-war-is-like-committing-suicide-out-of-fear-of-death/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [Seems like the only kind of job an American can get these days is committing suicide in some way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/seems-like-the-only-kind-of-job-an-american-can-get-these-days-is/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [And it would be a bit out of character. 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Youre the reason why insecure girls are committing suicide. Shame on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hope-degrading-people-makes-you-feel-so-damn-good-about-yourself/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You said I was the only person that stopped you from committing suicide. I asked you if you liked me back then...you said to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-said-i-was-the-only-person-that-stopped-you-from-committing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When someone isn't ready we must not try to force them out. People are being bullied and committing suicide because they're gay and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-martin/when-someone-isn-t-ready-we-must-not-try-to-force-them-out-people-are/) [Ricky Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-martin/) [Browse all 124 Committing suicide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/committing-suicide/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Your natural life is derived from your parents; that does not mean it will stay there if you do nothing about it. You can lose it by neglect, or you can drive it away by committing suicide. You have to feed it and look after it: but always remember you are not making it, you are only keeping up a life you got from someone else. In the same way a Christian can lose the Christ-life which has been put into him, and he has to make efforts to keep it. 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