--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world looks for happiness through…" description: "\"The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 'If a man will let himself be lost for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/elisabeth-elliot-1209_abandonment_the-world-looks-for-happiness-through-se_394830.png" --- # The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The… ![“The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 'If a man will let himself be lost for My sake,' Jesus said, 'he will find his true self.” quote by Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/elisabeth-elliot-1209_abandonment_the-world-looks-for-happiness-through-se_394830.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/elisabeth-elliot-1209_abandonment_the-world-looks-for-happiness-through-se_394830.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbf/elisabeth-elliot-1209_abandonment_the-world-looks-for-happiness-through-se_394830.png) > “The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 'If a man will let himself be lost for My sake,' Jesus said, 'he will find his true self.” [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True joy comes from surrendering self-will and embracing divine purpose, not from personal ambition. **In simple terms:** Joy is found by giving up self-assertion. Key Takeaway Seek humility, not self-promotion. Themes humility spirituality joy Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational spiritual When to use this quote - personal relationships - spiritual practice - leadership - mental health Key Concepts Christian theology self-transcendence faith Questions to Reflect On - How does surrender change your sense of self? - What does true joy look like in daily life? A Different Perspective Self-abandonment can be misinterpreted as loss of identity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) [Assertion Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assertion-christian-2752991/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happiness Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-self-360651/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self Abandonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-abandonment-3554418/) [Self Assertion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-assertion-646441/) [True self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-self/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 'If a man will let himself be lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-world-looks-for-happiness-through-self-assertion-the-christian/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Jealousy fuses megalomania and self-abandonment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/jealousy-fuses-megalomania-and-self-abandonment/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [Writing is a good example of self-abandonment. I never completely forget myself except when I am writing and I am never more completely myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/writing-is-a-good-example-of-self-abandonment-i-never-completely/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [There is but one way in which God should be loved, and that is to take no step except with Him and for Him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-but-one-way-in-which-god-should-be-loved-and-that-is-to-take/) [Francois Fenelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [The capacity for fear and for happiness are the same, the unrestricted openness to experience amounting to self-abandonment in which the vanquished rediscovers himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-capacity-for-fear-and-for-happiness-are-the-same-the-unrestricted/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [I am sometimes almost terrified at the scope of the demands made upon me, at the perfection of the self-abandonment required of me; yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-am-sometimes-almost-terrified-at-the-scope-of-the-demands-made-upon/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Jealousy, and attempting to match others in life and stride, is self-abandonment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-sara/jealousy-and-attempting-to-match-others-in-life-and-stride-is-self/) [Grace Sara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-sara/) > [“Beauty lies in the total abandonment of the observer and the observed and there can be self-abandonment only when there is total austerity –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/beauty-lies-in-the-total-abandonment-of-the-observer-and-the-observed/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“Oh, that fear of his self-abandonment—far worse than my abandonment—how it goaded me! It was a barbed arrow-head in my breast; it tore me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/oh-that-fear-of-his-self-abandonment-far-worse-than-my-abandonment/) [Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [To be free from all egoistic motive, careful of truth in speech and action, void of self-will and self-assertion, watchful in all things, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/to-be-free-from-all-egoistic-motive-careful-of-truth-in-speech-and/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [Even if it is indifferent to human desires, as it seems to be; if human life is a passing episode, hardly noticeable in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/even-if-it-is-indifferent-to-human-desires-as-it-seems-to-be-if-human/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Rejection is a form of self-assertion. You have only to look back upon yourself as a person who hates this or that to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/rejection-is-a-form-of-self-assertion-you-have-only-to-look-back-upon/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Unlike other peoples the United States found their origin in a deliberate act of corporate self-assertion, and ever since the Revolution every little American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/unlike-other-peoples-the-united-states-found-their-origin-in-a/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [Self-sufficiency at home, self-assertion abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/self-sufficiency-at-home-self-assertion-abroad/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akira-kurosawa/the-japanese-see-self-assertion-as-immoral-and-self-sacrifice-as-the/) [Akira Kurosawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akira-kurosawa/) ## More by Elisabeth Elliot > [All our problems are theological ones, William Temple said. All of them have to do with our relationship to God and his to us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/all-our-problems-are-theological-ones-william-temple-said-all-of-them/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Discipline, for the Christian, begins with the body. We have only one. It is this body that is the primary material given to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/discipline-for-the-christian-begins-with-the-body-we-have-only-one-it/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [It seems disrespectful to me to see ladies in church in very short skirts or skimpy, sleeveless tops. I would imagine that it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/it-seems-disrespectful-to-me-to-see-ladies-in-church-in-very-short/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [The deepest lessons come out of the deepest waters and the hottest fires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-deepest-lessons-come-out-of-the-deepest-waters-and-the-hottest/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Everything if given to God can become your gateway to joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/everything-if-given-to-god-can-become-your-gateway-to-joy/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Lead me, Lord, to the Rock that is higher than I. Let me hear your word, give me grace to obey, to build steadily,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/lead-me-lord-to-the-rock-that-is-higher-than-i-let-me-hear-your-word/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Experience had quickly taught her that she could not survive the storms without the anchor of the constraining love of Christ and what she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/experience-had-quickly-taught-her-that-she-could-not-survive-the/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [The pain of loneliness is one way in which he wants to get our attention. We may be earnestly desiring to be obedient and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-pain-of-loneliness-is-one-way-in-which-he-wants-to-get-our/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“If men and women were surer of their God there would be more genuine manliness, womanliness, and godliness in the world, and a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/if-men-and-women-were-surer-of-their-god-there-would-be-more-genuine/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [I believe with all my heart God's Story has a happy ending. . . But not yet, not necessarily yet. It takes faith to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/i-believe-with-all-my-heart-god-s-story-has-a-happy-ending-but-not/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/i-do-know-that-waiting-on-god-requires-the-willingness-to-bear/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [“What do women want today? What do men want? I mean, deep down. What do they really want? If ‘times’ have changed, have human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/what-do-women-want-today-what-do-men-want-i-mean-deep-down-what-do/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [God will never disappoint us… If deep in our hearts we suspect that God does not love us and cannot manage our affairs as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/god-will-never-disappoint-us-if-deep-in-our-hearts-we-suspect-that/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [Muddled thinking inevitably results in muddled living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/muddled-thinking-inevitably-results-in-muddled-living/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) > [The world cries for men who are strong--strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer. I pray that you will be that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-elliot/the-world-cries-for-men-who-are-strong-strong-in-conviction-strong-to/) [Elisabeth Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) [Explore all 273 Elisabeth Elliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-elliot/) ## More Abandonment quotes > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [I don't believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-don-t-believe-in-fate-or-destiny-i-believe-in-various-degrees-of/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Sometimes people walk away from love because it is so beautiful that it terrifies them. Sometimes they leave because the connection shines a bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-brown/sometimes-people-walk-away-from-love-because-it-is-so-beautiful-that/) [Jeff Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-brown/) > [Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. But they have not accepted - they have scarcely even heard -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/modern-societies-accepted-the-treasures-and-the-power-offered-them-by/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Judaism is absolutely incompatible with the abandonment of the Torah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-schechter/judaism-is-absolutely-incompatible-with-the-abandonment-of-the-torah/) [Solomon Schechter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-schechter/) > [“Abandonment is ugly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moore/abandonment-is-ugly/) [Michelle Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moore/) > [In our culture of constant access and nonstop media, nothing feels more like a curse from God than time in the wilderness. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/in-our-culture-of-constant-access-and-nonstop-media-nothing-feels/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [“When you give everything, you have nothing to lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/when-you-give-everything-you-have-nothing-to-lose/) [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) > [The only thing worse than being abandoned, is not being worthy of an explanation. It hurts to let go... but the feeling you're falling..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joryneville/the-only-thing-worse-than-being-abandoned-is-not-being-worthy-of-an/) [JoryNeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joryneville/) > [“I am not so different in my history of abandonment from anyone else after all. We have all been split away from each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/i-am-not-so-different-in-my-history-of-abandonment-from-anyone-else/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“The introduction to horrors so young impressed on me just how helpless and vulnerable I was. Parents are supposed to empower their children to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-enevoldsen/the-introduction-to-horrors-so-young-impressed-on-me-just-how/) [Christina Enevoldsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-enevoldsen/) > [Heartbreak has an archetypal core, all heartbroken individuals suffer from the same kind of torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginette-paris/heartbreak-has-an-archetypal-core-all-heartbroken-individuals-suffer/) [Ginette Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginette-paris/) > [“Lonely Balcony The deterioration brought by weariness was visible. Its burden of abandonment can be perceived at a glance. The balcony ache with longings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iqra-iqbal/lonely-balcony-the-deterioration-brought-by-weariness-was-visible-its/) [iqra iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iqra-iqbal/) > [God causes us to promise in time of peace what He exacts from us in time of war; He enables us to make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/god-causes-us-to-promise-in-time-of-peace-what-he-exacts-from-us-in/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) [Browse all 348 Abandonment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. 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