--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't really know God if you ignore…" description: "\"“You can't really know God if you ignore his laws, especially the ones that regulate the most intimate spheres of life. You may be responsible and heal..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/david-brooks-644_life_you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore_1005906.jpg" --- # You can't really know God if you ignore his laws… ![“You can't really know God if you ignore his laws, especially the ones that regulate the most intimate spheres of life. You may be responsible and healthy, but you will also be shallow and inconsequential.” quote by David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/david-brooks-644_life_you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore_1005906.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/david-brooks-644_life_you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore_1005906.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/david-brooks-644_life_you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore_1005906.jpg) > ““You can't really know God if you ignore his laws, especially the ones that regulate the most intimate spheres of life. You may be responsible and healthy, but you will also be shallow and inconsequential.”” [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding God requires respecting his fundamental rules, especially those governing intimate life; ignoring them leads to shallow existence. **In simple terms:** Follow core moral rules to avoid emptiness. Key Takeaway Live by deep moral principles. Themes morality spirituality law intimacy shallow consequences Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal decision-making - relationship counseling - community leadership - public policy Key Concepts Ethics theology personal growth Questions to Reflect On - What intimate laws shape your life? - Can moral law coexist with personal autonomy? A Different Perspective Strict adherence may suppress personal freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Laws, especially those of a constitutional nature like the Basic Law, which have been formulated through reasonable legislative processes, should never be freely interpreted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-lam/laws-especially-those-of-a-constitutional-nature-like-the-basic-law/) [Carrie Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-lam/) > [“The world is filled with toxic bureaucrats that blatantly ignore the laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-world-is-filled-with-toxic-bureaucrats-that-blatantly-ignore-the/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I do have an obligation to make sure that I am following some of the rules. I can't simply ignore laws that are out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-do-have-an-obligation-to-make-sure-that-i-am-following-some-of-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“In his book Where Was God? Erwin Lutzer writes, Often the same people who ask where God was following a disaster thanklessly refuse to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jeremiah/in-his-book-where-was-god-erwin-lutzer-writes-often-the-same-people/) [David Jeremiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jeremiah/) > [There is not any way that you can just choose the nice bits and say that means there is a God and ignore the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/there-is-not-any-way-that-you-can-just-choose-the-nice-bits-and-say/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [You can't just say there is a God because well, the world is beautiful. You have to account for bone cancer in children. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/you-can-t-just-say-there-is-a-god-because-well-the-world-is-beautiful/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [In everything we do there are two ways, acknowledge God or ignore Him Rely on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goddey-wilson/in-everything-we-do-there-are-two-ways-acknowledge-god-or-ignore-him/) [GODDEY WILSON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goddey-wilson/) > [I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-want-to-know-how-god-created-this-world-i-am-not-interested-in-this/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“And what does God ask of you?” “To fly without wings. To do what seems impossible. To cling to our loves through the rapids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-storace/and-what-does-god-ask-of-you-to-fly-without-wings-to-do-what-seems/) [Patricia Storace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-storace/) > [What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/what-matters-supremely-therefore-is-not-in-the-last-analysis-the-fact/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [“As you trust Me more and more, you are able to receive Me and My blessings abundantly. Be still, and know that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-young/as-you-trust-me-more-and-more-you-are-able-to-receive-me-and-my/) [Sarah Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-young/) > [“These are the times when we aficionados of the gas stove know we are on the side of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/these-are-the-times-when-we-aficionados-of-the-gas-stove-know-we-are/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [We should bathe our spirits in the deep, pure feeling that stirs within us when we gaze on the glories of His creation. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/we-should-bathe-our-spirits-in-the-deep-pure-feeling-that-stirs/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [“We must, however, urge it as a matter of the highest import, to cease from self-action and self-exertion, that God himself may act alone:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-guyon/we-must-however-urge-it-as-a-matter-of-the-highest-import-to-cease/) [Madame Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-guyon/) > [“You never know why God has you move the way He does. You should just listen when He tells you to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacinta-howard/you-never-know-why-god-has-you-move-the-way-he-does-you-should-just/) [Jacinta Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacinta-howard/) ## More by David Brooks > [The brain is not the mind. It is probably impossible to look at a map of brain activity and predict or even understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-brain-is-not-the-mind-it-is-probably-impossible-to-look-at-a-map/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [When you're running for president, you're a guest in the living room for four years. And if people don't think you're going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/when-you-re-running-for-president-you-re-a-guest-in-the-living-room/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“I’ve come to think that flourishing consists of putting yourself in situations in which you lose self-consciousness and become fused with other people, experiences,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-ve-come-to-think-that-flourishing-consists-of-putting-yourself-in/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [We have rapidly increasing technology, which is making life very good for people who are good at using words, and not so good for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/we-have-rapidly-increasing-technology-which-is-making-life-very-good/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I think Barack Obama's foreign policy will be regarded more failure than success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-think-barack-obama-s-foreign-policy-will-be-regarded-more-failure/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If you know that most processing is below the level of awareness, you learn the value of sleep. You're brain is working on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-you-know-that-most-processing-is-below-the-level-of-awareness-you/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Trade has suddenly become massively unpopular. I think that's massively unjust. I think free trade has been wonderful for America on balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/trade-has-suddenly-become-massively-unpopular-i-think-that-s/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Politics is based on social identity, and so, again, there is going to be differences between rural and urban and between left and right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/politics-is-based-on-social-identity-and-so-again-there-is-going-to/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Pain now is better than pain deferred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/pain-now-is-better-than-pain-deferred/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/it-s-worth-noting-that-you-can-devote-your-life-to-community-service/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [If it feels all right for you, it's probably OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/if-it-feels-all-right-for-you-it-s-probably-ok/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I do think Donald Trump is a fundamentally unstabilizing force and that the people who swore to uphold the Constitution are going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-do-think-donald-trump-is-a-fundamentally-unstabilizing-force-and/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Tim Kaine has been obviously a governor. He's been a senator. He's one of the smartest rising stars in the Democratic Party. He is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/tim-kaine-has-been-obviously-a-governor-he-s-been-a-senator-he-s-one/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [“Women, in general, are less visually aroused than men, a trait that has nearly cut the market for pornography in half.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/women-in-general-are-less-visually-aroused-than-men-a-trait-that-has/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [I wasn't born with a tie or with Mark Shields stapled to my left hip. I have another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/i-wasn-t-born-with-a-tie-or-with-mark-shields-stapled-to-my-left-hip/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) [Explore all 431 David Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [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/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“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/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You can't really know God if you ignore his laws, especially the ones that regulate the most intimate spheres of life. You may be responsible and healthy, but you will also be shallow and inconsequential.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore-his-laws-especially-the-ones/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore-his-laws-especially-the-ones/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/david-brooks-644_life_you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore_1005906.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/david-brooks-644_life_you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore_1005906.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fb/david-brooks-644_life_you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore_1005906.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't really know God if you ignore his laws, especially the ones that regulate the most intimate…” — David Brooks", "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 Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You can't really know God if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore-his-laws-especially-the-ones/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/you-can-t-really-know-god-if-you-ignore-his-laws-especially-the-ones/#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 } } ] } ```