--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How long must the church live before it…" description: "\"How long must the church live before it will learn that strength is won by action, and success by work, and that all this immeasurable feeding without ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/j-g-holland-3221_action_how-long-must-the-church-live-before-it_2665094.png" --- # How long must the church live before it will learn that… ![“How long must the church live before it will learn that strength is won by action, and success by work, and that all this immeasurable feeding without action and work is a positive damage to it--that it is the procurer of spiritual obesity, gout, and debility.” quote by J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/j-g-holland-3221_action_how-long-must-the-church-live-before-it_2665094.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/j-g-holland-3221_action_how-long-must-the-church-live-before-it_2665094.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/j-g-holland-3221_action_how-long-must-the-church-live-before-it_2665094.png) > “How long must the church live before it will learn that strength is won by action, and success by work, and that all this immeasurable feeding without action and work is a positive damage to it--that it is the procurer of spiritual obesity, gout, and debility.” [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spiritual growth requires active effort; passive belief leads to stagnation and moral decay. **In simple terms:** Action fuels spiritual strength. Key Takeaway Engage in purposeful practice. Themes spirituality action growth discipline Mood reflective serious Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - religious study - volunteering - personal rituals Key Concepts moral philosophy self‑improvement Questions to Reflect On - What practices keep your faith active? - How to balance action with reflection? A Different Perspective Action alone may not guarantee depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Damage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/damage/) [Obesity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obesity/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) ## Related quotes > [Great things are possible only to strong souls and it's from the trivial events of daily life that strength is won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-w-rogers/great-things-are-possible-only-to-strong-souls-and-it-s-from-the/) L. W Rogers > [The strongest among us aren't those who show strength we can see, but those who have won incredible inner battles we know nothing about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-strongest-among-us-aren-t-those-who-show-strength-we-can-see-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The simplest way to look at all these associations, between obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and Alzheimer's (not to mention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-taubes/the-simplest-way-to-look-at-all-these-associations-between-obesity/) [Gary Taubes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-taubes/) > ["The caddie will only drink the more if overpaid," you say. Indeed! and to what good purpose do you apply the money you grudge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-walter-simpson/the-caddie-will-only-drink-the-more-if-overpaid-you-say-indeed-and-to/) [Charles Walter Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-walter-simpson/) > [It was understood that nothing of a tender nature could possibly be confided to old Barley, by reason of his being totally unequal to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-was-understood-that-nothing-of-a-tender-nature-could-possibly-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Gout, unlike any other disease, kills more rich men than poor, more wise men than simple. Great kings, emperors, generals, admirals and philosophers have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/gout-unlike-any-other-disease-kills-more-rich-men-than-poor-more-wise/) [Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/) > [For humble individuals like myself, there is one poor comfort, which is this, viz. that gout, unlike any other disease, kills more rich men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/for-humble-individuals-like-myself-there-is-one-poor-comfort-which-is/) [Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/) > [“The gout is a complaint as arises from too much ease and comfort. If ever you're attacked with the gout, sir, jist you marry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-gout-is-a-complaint-as-arises-from-too-much-ease-and-comfort-if/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I can cure the gout or stone in some, sooner than Divinity, Pride, or Avarice in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/i-can-cure-the-gout-or-stone-in-some-sooner-than-divinity-pride-or/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [Just as old age is creeping on space, And clouds come o'er the sunset of our day, They kindly leave us, though not quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/just-as-old-age-is-creeping-on-space-and-clouds-come-o-er-the-sunset/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“Gout Every single year, thousands upon thousands of people are diagnosed with, and suffer from a condition known as gout. Gout is basically a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haley/gout-every-single-year-thousands-upon-thousands-of-people-are/) James Haley > [As the gout seems privileged to attack the bodies of the wealthy, so ennui seems to exert a similar prerogative over their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/as-the-gout-seems-privileged-to-attack-the-bodies-of-the-wealthy-so/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [I confidently affirm that the greater part of those who are supposed to have died of gout, have died of the medicine rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sydenham/i-confidently-affirm-that-the-greater-part-of-those-who-are-supposed/) [Thomas Sydenham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sydenham/) > [Old age doth in sharp pains abound; We are belabored by the gout, Our blindness is a dark profound, Our deafness each one laughs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/old-age-doth-in-sharp-pains-abound-we-are-belabored-by-the-gout-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People wish their enemies dead - but I do not; I say give them the gout, give them the stone!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/people-wish-their-enemies-dead-but-i-do-not-i-say-give-them-the-gout/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) ## More by J. G. Holland > [That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slow, endures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/that-which-grows-fast-withers-as-rapidly-that-which-grows-slow-endures/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [The faculty of self-help is that which distinguished man from animals; that it is the Godlike element, or holds within itself the Godlike element,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/the-faculty-of-self-help-is-that-which-distinguished-man-from-animals/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Poet, forger of ideals, dreamer among the possibilities of life, prophet of the millenium, do you get impatient with the prosaic life around you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/poet-forger-of-ideals-dreamer-among-the-possibilities-of-life-prophet/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [In my judgment, a great mistake has been made by well meaning and zealous men, through treating error and infidelity with altogether too much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/in-my-judgment-a-great-mistake-has-been-made-by-well-meaning-and/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [I stand by my kind; and I thank God for the temptations that have brought me into sympathy with them, as I do for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/i-stand-by-my-kind-and-i-thank-god-for-the-temptations-that-have/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [No man ever feels the restraint of law so long as he remains within the sphere of his liberty -- a sphere, by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/no-man-ever-feels-the-restraint-of-law-so-long-as-he-remains-within/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [All who become men of power reach their estate by the same self-mastery, the same self-adjustment to circumstances, the same voluntary exercise and discipline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/all-who-become-men-of-power-reach-their-estate-by-the-same-self/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Preceptive wisdom that has not been vivified by life has in itself no affinity for life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/preceptive-wisdom-that-has-not-been-vivified-by-life-has-in-itself-no/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Scholarship, save by accident, is never the measure of a man's power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/scholarship-save-by-accident-is-never-the-measure-of-a-man-s-power/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [“God gives every bird its food, but He does not throw it into its nest. ~ J.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/god-gives-every-bird-its-food-but-he-does-not-throw-it-into-its-nest-j/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Humanity is constitutionally lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/humanity-is-constitutionally-lazy/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [It is the life in literature that acts upon life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/it-is-the-life-in-literature-that-acts-upon-life/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [A fortune won in a day is lost in a day; a fortune won slowly, and slowly compacted, seems to acquire from the hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/a-fortune-won-in-a-day-is-lost-in-a-day-a-fortune-won-slowly-and/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [I account the office of benefactor, or almoner, to which God appoints all those whom he has favored with wealth, one of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/i-account-the-office-of-benefactor-or-almoner-to-which-god-appoints/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Who never walks save where he sees men's tracks makes no discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/who-never-walks-save-where-he-sees-men-s-tracks-makes-no-discoveries/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) [Explore all 136 J. G. Holland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! 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