--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: None of us are as bad as we could be…" description: "\"“None of us are as bad as we could be (though some people come close). None of us are as good as we should be (and the more you know yourself, the more..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/david-a-powlison-32053_good-and-evil_none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-tho_2248664.jpg" --- # None of us are as bad as we could be (though some people… ![“None of us are as bad as we could be (though some people come close). None of us are as good as we should be (and the more you know yourself, the more you see how you fall short). Each of us is a microcosm: a perpetual skirmish in the Great War between good and evil.” quote by David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/david-a-powlison-32053_good-and-evil_none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-tho_2248664.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/david-a-powlison-32053_good-and-evil_none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-tho_2248664.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/david-a-powlison-32053_good-and-evil_none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-tho_2248664.jpg) > ““None of us are as bad as we could be (though some people come close). None of us are as good as we should be (and the more you know yourself, the more you see how you fall short). Each of us is a microcosm: a perpetual skirmish in the Great War between good and evil.”” [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People constantly battle inner good and evil, never fully good or fully bad, and self‑knowledge reveals personal shortcomings. **In simple terms:** We are always fighting our own moral conflict and fall short of ideals. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection and strive for growth. Themes self‑awareness morality inner conflict humility Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - self‑reflection - relationship counseling - leadership decisions Key Concepts psychology ethics personal development Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing your flaws help you improve? - What practices keep you aligned with your values? A Different Perspective Self‑assessment can be demotivating if not balanced with compassion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Good and evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-and-evil/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [In fine, a life of good or evil, the hope of Heaven or the despair of Hell, Faustus stands as a reminder that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-fine-a-life-of-good-or-evil-the-hope-of-heaven-or-the-despair-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [An evil man is a saint of the future. See good in everything. Destroy the evil-finding quality. Develop the good-finding quality. Rise above good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/an-evil-man-is-a-saint-of-the-future-see-good-in-everything-destroy/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [My hope is that my novels reflect the reality of a world where good and evil exist, imperfect people make mistakes, but a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klassen/my-hope-is-that-my-novels-reflect-the-reality-of-a-world-where-good/) [Julie Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klassen/) > [“Because good and evil weren’t inborn traits. They were choices we made.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-thalassa/because-good-and-evil-weren-t-inborn-traits-they-were-choices-we-made/) [Laura Thalassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-thalassa/) > [“It was granted me to carry away from my prison years on my bent back, which nearly broke beneath its load, this essential experience;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/it-was-granted-me-to-carry-away-from-my-prison-years-on-my-bent-back/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [I like to see the difference between good and evil as kind of like the foul line at a baseball game. It's very thin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-coben/i-like-to-see-the-difference-between-good-and-evil-as-kind-of-like/) [Harlan Coben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-coben/) > [“We learn that there are in creation, Beings - perhaps very numerous - both good and evil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whatley/we-learn-that-there-are-in-creation-beings-perhaps-very-numerous-both/) Richard Whatley > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [All of the films I have made, that I have chosen to make, are all about the thin line between good and evil. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-friedkin/all-of-the-films-i-have-made-that-i-have-chosen-to-make-are-all-about/) [William Friedkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-friedkin/) > [The meaning of good and bad, of better and worse, is simply helping or hurting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-meaning-of-good-and-bad-of-better-and-worse-is-simply-helping-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“He was not Evil, for even Evil has a certain vitality — Bel-Shamharoth was the flip side of the coin of which Good and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/he-was-not-evil-for-even-evil-has-a-certain-vitality-bel-shamharoth/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I believe it's true that there's good and evil in everyone and it's a constant struggle to have your better angels prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-friedkin/i-believe-it-s-true-that-there-s-good-and-evil-in-everyone-and-it-s-a/) [William Friedkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-friedkin/) > [“This is perhaps what has made some suspect that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was really a banana.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-grigson/this-is-perhaps-what-has-made-some-suspect-that-the-tree-of-knowledge/) [Jane Grigson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-grigson/) > [I define a 'good person' as somebody who is fully conscious of their own limitations. They know their strengths, but they also know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bradshaw/i-define-a-good-person-as-somebody-who-is-fully-conscious-of-their/) [John Bradshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bradshaw/) ## More by David A. Powlison > [“No one can understand a person who isn’t willing to hold two opposites together. You can’t understand yourself without holding the creation and fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/no-one-can-understand-a-person-who-isn-t-willing-to-hold-two/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Here is the sweet paradox in how God works. He blesses those who admit that they need help: The poor in spirit are blessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/here-is-the-sweet-paradox-in-how-god-works-he-blesses-those-who-admit/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Second, Jimmy lived in a universe that featured him. Everything was all about one all-important, all-offended being. Every scene in his film, every page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/second-jimmy-lived-in-a-universe-that-featured-him-everything-was-all/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Motives are your core values and commitments, what you base your identity on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/motives-are-your-core-values-and-commitments-what-you-base-your/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“His mercy is not niceness. His mercy is not blanket acceptance of any and all. Mercy to us costs him—the blood of the Lamb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/his-mercy-is-not-niceness-his-mercy-is-not-blanket-acceptance-of-any/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Mercy is an entirely different way of reacting to offenses, to things we think are wrong. Think about this: mercy is not a non-reactive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/mercy-is-an-entirely-different-way-of-reacting-to-offenses-to-things/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“First, notice the weather. “Our Father . . . makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/first-notice-the-weather-our-father-makes-his-sun-rise-on-the-evil/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“By instinct, habit, and enculturation, all of us tend to think of counseling as a human-with-human interaction. But in fact a human-with-Savior interaction must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/by-instinct-habit-and-enculturation-all-of-us-tend-to-think-of/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“To actually make peace, where open wrong, hostility, and destruction now operate, is the hardest and best work in the world. It involves saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/to-actually-make-peace-where-open-wrong-hostility-and-destruction-now/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Motives are not only the fine china of plausible desires and honest hurt. They are also the steel and high explosives of all-consuming self-will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/motives-are-not-only-the-fine-china-of-plausible-desires-and-honest/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Every one of us has a hard time changing. It’s hard to think straight about anger. It grabs you and it’s got you. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/every-one-of-us-has-a-hard-time-changing-it-s-hard-to-think-straight/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“There’s something high and mighty about anger, when distilled to its basic elements. Anger goes wrong when you get godlike. Your desires become divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/there-s-something-high-and-mighty-about-anger-when-distilled-to-its/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Conflicts can be impenetrably complex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/conflicts-can-be-impenetrably-complex/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“God’s mercies in Jesus Christ are like taking in the sun full strength. Our love for others is at best a flickering three-watt night-light.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/god-s-mercies-in-jesus-christ-are-like-taking-in-the-sun-full/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) > [“Every time you get angry, you make your values and point of view explicit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/every-time-you-get-angry-you-make-your-values-and-point-of-view/) [David A. Powlison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) [Explore all 16 David A. Powlison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/) ## More Bad people quotes > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [“Any discussion of money and success would be lacking if I did not state that money is neither good nor bad. In the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-stovall/any-discussion-of-money-and-success-would-be-lacking-if-i-did-not/) [Jim Stovall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-stovall/) > [When people walk away from you, let them go. You're destiny is never tied to anyone who leaves you, and it doesn't mean they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-walk-away-from-you-let-them-go-you-re-destiny-is-never/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If you have the ability and the opportunity to help someone, but you don't do anything just because you're scared or it's inconvenient or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bree-despain/if-you-have-the-ability-and-the-opportunity-to-help-someone-but-you/) [Bree Despain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bree-despain/) > [Really bad people around the world, because of the genius of American innovation, use our products and infrastructure for their emails, for their communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/really-bad-people-around-the-world-because-of-the-genius-of-american/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [“If you sought to leave the world, don’t go alone. Since there are too many bad people you can take them too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/if-you-sought-to-leave-the-world-don-t-go-alone-since-there-are-too/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“To feel someone’s life drain from their body by your hands . . . bad, bad people who need to be plucked from this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tillie-cole/to-feel-someone-s-life-drain-from-their-body-by-your-hands-bad-bad/) [Tillie Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tillie-cole/) > [“I just can't get with this idea that literature is a 12-step program. If someone wants to read a book to see good people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/china-mi-ville/i-just-can-t-get-with-this-idea-that-literature-is-a-12-step-program/) [China Miéville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/china-mi-ville/) > [“Deterrents properly placed can help. But that is not enough. We are one society, and as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-booker/deterrents-properly-placed-can-help-but-that-is-not-enough-we-are-one/) [Cory Booker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-booker/) > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Too bad all the people who know how to run this country are busy running taxicabs or cutting hair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-burns/too-bad-all-the-people-who-know-how-to-run-this-country-are-busy/) [George Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-burns/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [The truth is that Africa is like everywhere else. There are poor areas, there are rich areas, there is a middle class. Some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masai-ujiri/the-truth-is-that-africa-is-like-everywhere-else-there-are-poor-areas/) [Masai Ujiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masai-ujiri/) > [I'm a very placid human being. I don't want to kill anyone. I guess I have played a lot of bad people in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mays/i-m-a-very-placid-human-being-i-don-t-want-to-kill-anyone-i-guess-i/) [Daniel Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mays/) > [We do not come to God as bad people trying to become good people; we come as rebels to lay down our arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/we-do-not-come-to-god-as-bad-people-trying-to-become-good-people-we/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Browse all 703 Bad people quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-people/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“None of us are as bad as we could be (though some people come close). None of us are as good as we should be (and the more you know yourself, the more you see how you fall short). Each of us is a microcosm: a perpetual skirmish in the Great War between good and evil.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David A. Powlison" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-though-some-people-come-close/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad people" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-though-some-people-come-close/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/david-a-powlison-32053_good-and-evil_none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-tho_2248664.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/david-a-powlison-32053_good-and-evil_none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-tho_2248664.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/918/david-a-powlison-32053_good-and-evil_none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-tho_2248664.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“None of us are as bad as we could be (though some people come close). None of us are as good as we should be…” — David A. Powlison", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David A. Powlison", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-a-powlison/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“None of us are as bad...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-though-some-people-come-close/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-a-powlison/none-of-us-are-as-bad-as-we-could-be-though-some-people-come-close/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```