--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What the Church should be telling him…" description: "\"What the Church should be telling him [the carpenter] is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/dorothy-l-sayers-738_carpenter_what-the-church-should-be-telling-him-th_2145453.jpg" --- # What the Church should be telling him \[the carpenter\] is… ![“What the Church should be telling him [the carpenter] is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables.” quote by Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/dorothy-l-sayers-738_carpenter_what-the-church-should-be-telling-him-th_2145453.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/dorothy-l-sayers-738_carpenter_what-the-church-should-be-telling-him-th_2145453.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c5/dorothy-l-sayers-738_carpenter_what-the-church-should-be-telling-him-th_2145453.jpg) > “What the Church should be telling him \[the carpenter\] is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables.” [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage suggests that a carpenter’s first religious duty is to produce quality work, linking faith with craftsmanship. **In simple terms:** Faith expressed through good workmanship. Key Takeaway Do your work with excellence. Themes faith craftsmanship ethics work Mood thoughtful inspirational Type ethical practical When to use this quote - carpentry - trade apprenticeship - professional ethics Key Concepts religion skill quality purpose Questions to Reflect On - How does your work reflect your values? - What does “good tables” symbolize for you? A Different Perspective May overlook broader spiritual duties. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carpenter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenter/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [What the church should be telling the worker is that the first demand religion makes on him is that he should be a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/what-the-church-should-be-telling-the-worker-is-that-the-first-demand/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“The church’s approach to an intelligent carpenter is usually confined to exhorting him to not be drunk and disorderly in his leisure hours and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-church-s-approach-to-an-intelligent-carpenter-is-usually-confined/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“The story that the church has been telling for two thousand years is an outrageous tale about a man who was executed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-katongole/the-story-that-the-church-has-been-telling-for-two-thousand-years-is/) [Emmanuel Katongole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-katongole/) > [I'm sick of people who've never been to church telling me that church is full of hypocrites, and people who've never read the Bible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-chenoweth/i-m-sick-of-people-who-ve-never-been-to-church-telling-me-that-church/) [Kristin Chenoweth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-chenoweth/) > [The Church is composed of people, and people do terrible things and commit sin - it's what the Church has been telling us for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-coren/the-church-is-composed-of-people-and-people-do-terrible-things-and/) [Michael Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-coren/) > [“But even if religion makes no sense to you, you need to make sense of religion to to make sense of the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-prothero/but-even-if-religion-makes-no-sense-to-you-you-need-to-make-sense-of/) Stephen R. Prothero > [It is supposed by some that religion makes people solemn, takes the sunshine out of their life, the joy out of their heart, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-miller/it-is-supposed-by-some-that-religion-makes-people-solemn-takes-the/) [J.R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-miller/) > [Some of you say religion makes people happy. So does laughing gas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-darrow/some-of-you-say-religion-makes-people-happy-so-does-laughing-gas/) [Clarence Darrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-darrow/) > [Religion makes good people better and bad people worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-richard-niebuhr/religion-makes-good-people-better-and-bad-people-worse/) [H. Richard Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-richard-niebuhr/) > [Religion makes them crazy. Not a woman I ever met wasn't crazy with religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/religion-makes-them-crazy-not-a-woman-i-ever-met-wasn-t-crazy-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Religion makes intelligent people say and do wacky things, believe and affirm crazy things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-makes-intelligent-people-say-and-do-wacky-things-believe-and/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Science provides tangible evidence of its accuracy and importance. Religion makes excuses for its absence of the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pz-myers/science-provides-tangible-evidence-of-its-accuracy-and-importance/) [PZ Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pz-myers/) > [The ground of all religion, that which makes it possible, is the relation in which the human soul stands to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-campbell-shairp/the-ground-of-all-religion-that-which-makes-it-possible-is-the/) [John Campbell Shairp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-campbell-shairp/) > [“The way religion makes thousands believe is itself a miracle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/the-way-religion-makes-thousands-believe-is-itself-a-miracle/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More by Dorothy L. Sayers > [“The really essential factors of success in any undertaking are money and opportunity, and as a rule, the man who can make the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-really-essential-factors-of-success-in-any-undertaking-are-money/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [The trouble is. . .that everybody sneers at restrictions and demands freedom, till something annoying happens; then they demand angrily what has become of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/the-trouble-is-that-everybody-sneers-at-restrictions-and-demands/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“ Peter! Were you looking for a horse-shoe?" "No; I was expecting the horse, but the shoe is a piece of pure, gorgeous luck."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/peter-were-you-looking-for-a-horse-shoe-no-i-was-expecting-the-horse/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ “See that the mind is honest, first; the rest may follow or not as God wills. \[That\] the fundamental treason to the mind ...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/see-that-the-mind-is-honest-first-the-rest-may-follow-or-not-as-god/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [But it is the mark of all movements, however well-intentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/but-it-is-the-mark-of-all-movements-however-well-intentioned-that/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [We may argue eloquently that 'Honesty is the best Policy' - unfortunately, the moment honesty is adopted for the sake of policy it mysteriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/we-may-argue-eloquently-that-honesty-is-the-best-policy-unfortunately/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [One must not only die daily, but every day we must be born again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/one-must-not-only-die-daily-but-every-day-we-must-be-born-again/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“By teaching them all to read, we have left them at the mercy of the printed word. By the invention of the film and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/by-teaching-them-all-to-read-we-have-left-them-at-the-mercy-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [ Perhaps \[the critics are right and\] the drama is played out now and Jesus is safely dead and buried. Perhaps. It is ironical and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/perhaps-the-critics-are-right-and-the-drama-is-played-out-now-and/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [... at no point have I yet found artistic truth and theological truth at variance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/at-no-point-have-i-yet-found-artistic-truth-and-theological-truth-at/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [I have never yet heard any middle-aged man or woman who worked with his or her brains express any regret for the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/i-have-never-yet-heard-any-middle-aged-man-or-woman-who-worked-with/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“That was the second time within five minutes that he had warned her off his private ground. His mood had changed since the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/that-was-the-second-time-within-five-minutes-that-he-had-warned-her/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“To obey orders in this family has been my privilege for the last twenty years--a privilege which has been an unqualified pleasure, except perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/to-obey-orders-in-this-family-has-been-my-privilege-for-the-last/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Those who make some other person their job... are dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/those-who-make-some-other-person-their-job-are-dangerous/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [“Yes, and look at the corpses. Place always reminds me of that old thing in Punch, you know—‘Waiter, take away Lord Whatsisname, he’s been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/yes-and-look-at-the-corpses-place-always-reminds-me-of-that-old-thing/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) [Explore all 386 Dorothy L. Sayers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) ## More Carpenter quotes > [An axe at home saves hiring a carpenter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-schiller/an-axe-at-home-saves-hiring-a-carpenter/) [Friedrich Schiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-schiller/) > [Even if I wasn't in music, even if my father was a carpenter, some guy in Jamaica would go 'You're just like Bob. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/even-if-i-wasn-t-in-music-even-if-my-father-was-a-carpenter-some-guy/) [Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/) > [Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Like Ares comes the bridegroom, taller far than a tall man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sappho/raise-high-the-roof-beam-carpenters-like-ares-comes-the-bridegroom/) [Sappho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sappho/) > [As regards the quietude of the sage, he is not quiet because quietness is said to be good. He is quiet because the multitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/as-regards-the-quietude-of-the-sage-he-is-not-quiet-because-quietness/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [There's a devil inside me which cries, "You're not the son of the Carpenter, you're the son of King David! You are not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/there-s-a-devil-inside-me-which-cries-you-re-not-the-son-of-the/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [As I've gotten old I've really listened to a wide spectrum of music, whether it's The Carpenters, Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z or Lauryn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-sudano/as-i-ve-gotten-old-i-ve-really-listened-to-a-wide-spectrum-of-music/) [Brooklyn Sudano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-sudano/) > [This, more than anything else, is what I have never understood about your people. You can roll dice, and understand that the whole game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/this-more-than-anything-else-is-what-i-have-never-understood-about/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [It's the ones that deal with the inner fear, the unknown realms and the mysticisms that are scary. You had that in the Carpenter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/it-s-the-ones-that-deal-with-the-inner-fear-the-unknown-realms-and/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/read-read-read-read-everything-trash-classics-good-and-bad-and-see/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“The Carpenter Shop”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-carpenter-shop/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I'd rather spend half an hour in the company of a top carpenter, than three hours in the company of an average brain surgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-d-rather-spend-half-an-hour-in-the-company-of-a-top-carpenter-than/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-may-abuse-a-tragedy-though-you-cannot-write-one-you-may-scold-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [But suicides have a special language. Like carpenters they want to know which tools. They never ask why build. Twice I have so simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/but-suicides-have-a-special-language-like-carpenters-they-want-to/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [An ancient gnarled tree: Too fibrous for a logger's saw, Too twisted to fit a carpenter's square, Outlasts the whole forest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ming-dao-deng/an-ancient-gnarled-tree-too-fibrous-for-a-logger-s-saw-too-twisted-to/) [Ming-Dao Deng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ming-dao-deng/) [Browse all 249 Carpenter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carpenter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What the Church should be telling him [the carpenter] is this: that the very first demand that his religion makes upon him is that he should make good tables.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dorothy L. 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