--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Contrition means finding the courage to…" description: "\"“Contrition means finding the courage to let your heart break over sin. Willfully letting your heart break and then offering the pieces to God is a rad..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/ellen-f-davis-25448_courage_contrition-means-finding-the-courage-to_1682180.jpg" --- # Contrition means finding the courage to let your heart… ![“Contrition means finding the courage to let your heart break over sin. Willfully letting your heart break and then offering the pieces to God is a radically counter cultural idea in our society.” quote by Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/ellen-f-davis-25448_courage_contrition-means-finding-the-courage-to_1682180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/ellen-f-davis-25448_courage_contrition-means-finding-the-courage-to_1682180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/788/ellen-f-davis-25448_courage_contrition-means-finding-the-courage-to_1682180.jpg) > ““Contrition means finding the courage to let your heart break over sin. Willfully letting your heart break and then offering the pieces to God is a radically counter cultural idea in our society.”” [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges confronting sin by allowing emotional pain and offering it to God, challenging cultural norms that avoid such vulnerability. **In simple terms:** Face sin, feel pain, give it to God. Key Takeaway Embrace painful honesty with God. Themes spirituality vulnerability culture Mood reflective serious Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - personal confession - religious practice - counseling - spiritual direction - public speaking Key Concepts redemption courage countercultural Questions to Reflect On - How can one balance honest sorrow with healthy coping? - What role does community play in processing guilt? A Different Perspective Some may view this as encouraging self‑flagellation rather than constructive repentance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Break Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-sin-968981/) [Contrition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrition/) [Contrition Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrition-means-968980/) [Courage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courage/) [Letting Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/letting-heart-662764/) [Sin Willfully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin-willfully-968982/) ## Related quotes > [Oh, what peril attaches to sin willfully committed! 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I know deep in your heart.. you don't wish to be one.. its just, you r acting so 'cos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijeet-sawant/even-if-you-be-mendacious-i-know-deep-in-your-heart-you-don-t-wish-to/) [Abhijeet Sawant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijeet-sawant/) > [“If you’re trying to avoid loss, there’s no point in taking another breath, or letting your heart beat one more time. It all ends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/if-you-re-trying-to-avoid-loss-there-s-no-point-in-taking-another/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [Because who would ever want to get close to another person if they knew how hard the letting-go part was? In your heart they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/because-who-would-ever-want-to-get-close-to-another-person-if-they/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Letting my heart instead of my hormones decide when to do it made what Aiden and I'd done special. And when we passed each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-l-armentrout/letting-my-heart-instead-of-my-hormones-decide-when-to-do-it-made/) [Jennifer L. Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [Letting you back into my heart was the SECOND biggest mistake of my life!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-ambler/letting-you-back-into-my-heart-was-the-second-biggest-mistake-of-my/) [Tracy Ambler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-ambler/) > [“Part of living is acknowledging people’s pain and grief, but not letting it take over your heart. Though it’s always nighttime in the depths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-james/part-of-living-is-acknowledging-people-s-pain-and-grief-but-not/) [Steven James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-james/) > [Letting go, at its heart, is an act of agreement with Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/letting-go-at-its-heart-is-an-act-of-agreement-with-life/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [“I have calculated the total number of hours we spend sleeping beside each other in a week and I wanted to tell you it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sierra-demulder/i-have-calculated-the-total-number-of-hours-we-spend-sleeping-beside/) [Sierra Demulder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sierra-demulder/) > [I saw you with her, but I didnt care, I realized a long time ago, I was letting my heart do the thinking instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashida-rowe/i-saw-you-with-her-but-i-didnt-care-i-realized-a-long-time-ago-i-was/) [Rashida Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashida-rowe/) > [Sometimes change is what's best, letting your heart break, and learning how to cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-change-is-what-s-best-letting-your-heart-break-and-learning/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every contrition for sin is apt to encourage a not quite charitable wish that other people should exhibit a similar contrition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/every-contrition-for-sin-is-apt-to-encourage-a-not-quite-charitable/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [“One moment of prayer, of weak worship, confused contrition, tepid thanksgiving, or pitiful petition will bring us closer to God than all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/one-moment-of-prayer-of-weak-worship-confused-contrition-tepid/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) ## More by Ellen F. Davis > [ “The Song \[of Solomon\] captures the ecstatic aspect of love that is the main subject of the whole Bible.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-song-of-solomon-captures-the-ecstatic-aspect-of-love-that-is-the/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“That the Old Testament represents God chiefly as angry Judge and vicious Warrior is a false stereotype. While these images are not absent, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/that-the-old-testament-represents-god-chiefly-as-angry-judge-and/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“...our role as comforters is not to solve the problem of pain; even less is it to stick up for God. Trying to vindicate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/our-role-as-comforters-is-not-to-solve-the-problem-of-pain-even-less/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“The very idea of wisdom, as the Bible understands it, challenges the mind-set of our society and the view of knowledge that all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-very-idea-of-wisdom-as-the-bible-understands-it-challenges-the/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“And there we recognize that our frailty is not meant to cause us anxiety and sorrow. Rather, God means it to be a source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/and-there-we-recognize-that-our-frailty-is-not-meant-to-cause-us/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“The Garden of Eden was the place where the first human creatures might have acquired wisdom: Eden was the place for total intimacy with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-garden-of-eden-was-the-place-where-the-first-human-creatures/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“What gives a liturgy its plot? A liturgy is always a sort of drama, that is, an intentional sequence of events, however simple or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/what-gives-a-liturgy-its-plot-a-liturgy-is-always-a-sort-of-drama/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“The fourth-century Greek theologian St. John Chrysostom said that Job's greatest trial was that his wife was not taken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-fourth-century-greek-theologian-st-john-chrysostom-said-that-job/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [ “God accommodates \[Moses'\] complaints and makes in-course corrections. God does not take a human being so fully into the divine confidence--you might say, God… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/god-accommodates-moses-complaints-and-makes-in-course-corrections-god/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“The problem was acutely described in 1909 in a penetrating essay by Adolf Schlatter: According to the sceptical position, it is true that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-problem-was-acutely-described-in-1909-in-a-penetrating-essay-by/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“...Job rails against God, not as a skeptic, not as a stranger to God's justice, but precisely as a believer. It is the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/job-rails-against-god-not-as-a-skeptic-not-as-a-stranger-to-god-s/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“For us the true measure of our wisdom will never be the grade point average we covet, a degree or rank, the right job,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/for-us-the-true-measure-of-our-wisdom-will-never-be-the-grade-point/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“If God has a best friend (and why not?), then surely it is Moses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/if-god-has-a-best-friend-and-why-not-then-surely-it-is-moses/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“The sufferer who keeps looking for God has, in the end, privileged knowledge. ... She passes through a door that only pain will open,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-sufferer-who-keeps-looking-for-god-has-in-the-end-privileged/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) > [“The resurrection produces a “conversion of the imagination” that causes us to understand everything else differently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-f-davis/the-resurrection-produces-a-conversion-of-the-imagination-that-causes/) [Ellen F. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) [Explore all 23 Ellen F. Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-f-davis/) ## More Contrition quotes > [“One moment of prayer, of weak worship, confused contrition, tepid thanksgiving, or pitiful petition will bring us closer to God than all the books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/one-moment-of-prayer-of-weak-worship-confused-contrition-tepid/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [Every contrition for sin is apt to encourage a not quite charitable wish that other people should exhibit a similar contrition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-williams/every-contrition-for-sin-is-apt-to-encourage-a-not-quite-charitable/) [Charles Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-williams/) > [Three conditions are necessary for Penance: contrition, which is sorrow for sin, together with a purpose of amendment; confession of sins without any omission;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/three-conditions-are-necessary-for-penance-contrition-which-is-sorrow/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“He died, as the Spanish phrase has it, full of illusions. He had not had time in his life to lose any of them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/he-died-as-the-spanish-phrase-has-it-full-of-illusions-he-had-not-had/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Evil is retributive: every trespass slips fetters on the will, holds the soul in durance till contrition and repentance restore it to liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/evil-is-retributive-every-trespass-slips-fetters-on-the-will-holds/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) > [True repentance includes sorrow for sin and contrition of heart. It breaks the heart with sighs and sobs and groans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/true-repentance-includes-sorrow-for-sin-and-contrition-of-heart-it/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [We in the church have humility and contrition to offer the world, not a formula for success. Almost alone in our success-oriented society, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/we-in-the-church-have-humility-and-contrition-to-offer-the-world-not/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [God is not looking for repayment, but repentance. What heals a broken relationship is sincere love and contrition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederica-mathewes-green/god-is-not-looking-for-repayment-but-repentance-what-heals-a-broken/) [Frederica Mathewes-Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederica-mathewes-green/) > [We fancy that our afflictions are sent us directly from above; sometimes we think it in piety and contrition, but oftener in moroseness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/we-fancy-that-our-afflictions-are-sent-us-directly-from-above/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in hell, even if you have sold your soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-de-montfort/even-if-you-are-on-the-brink-of-damnation-even-if-you-have-one-foot/) [Louis de Montfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-de-montfort/) > [“I divested myself of despair and fear when I came here. Now there is no more catching one's own eye in the mirror, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-kenyon/i-divested-myself-of-despair-and-fear-when-i-came-here-now-there-is/) [Jane Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-kenyon/) > [Our preaching does not stop with the law. That would lead to wounding without binding up, striking down and not healing, killing and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-preaching-does-not-stop-with-the-law-that-would-lead-to-wounding/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Apologizing is different from begging, it doesn't change your status, go ahead and get on your knees, spill tears if you got it, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/apologizing-is-different-from-begging-it-doesn-t-change-your-status/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I know California isn't a real destination. You can't get there from New Jersey, not simply by following a line drawn on a map.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/i-know-california-isn-t-a-real-destination-you-can-t-get-there-from/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [I bet Richard Fuld doesn't have an ounce of contrition. It's just megalomania. When it's like that, you need rules to prevent catastrophe. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-bet-richard-fuld-doesn-t-have-an-ounce-of-contrition-it-s-just/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 43 Contrition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Contrition means finding the courage to let your heart break over sin. 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