--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Obscurity is where God sends all His…" description: "\"Obscurity is where God sends all His favorite sons and daughters. Our society tells us that if and when we get ‘there’—the job or position or degree we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/jonathan-martin-54888_children_obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-fav_687591.jpg" --- # Obscurity is where God sends all His favorite sons and… ![“Obscurity is where God sends all His favorite sons and daughters. Our society tells us that if and when we get ‘there’—the job or position or degree we’ve always wanted, the notoriety we’ve always dreamed of—that’s when all the important stuff will start happening. Not so. All the good stuff…” quote by Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/jonathan-martin-54888_children_obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-fav_687591.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/jonathan-martin-54888_children_obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-fav_687591.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/jonathan-martin-54888_children_obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-fav_687591.jpg) > “Obscurity is where God sends all His favorite sons and daughters. Our society tells us that if and when we get ‘there’—the job or position or degree we’ve always wanted, the notoriety we’ve always dreamed of—that’s when all the important stuff will start happening. Not so. All the good stuff happens in obscurity.” [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Obscurity is where true development occurs; fame is not required for meaningful progress. **In simple terms:** Great work happens away from spotlight. Key Takeaway Focus on substance, not fame. Themes humility purpose development Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - creative work - research - community service - skill mastery Key Concepts intrinsic motivation legacy Questions to Reflect On - What can you do in private to improve? - How does anonymity affect creativity? A Different Perspective Recognition can distract from genuine growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degrees/) [Happenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happenings/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Happens Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens-obscurity-5470502/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ifs and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs-and/) [Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Notoriety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notoriety/) [Obscurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity/) [Obscurity God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obscurity-god-5470501/) [Our society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-society/) [Position](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/position/) [Society Tells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-tells-539748/) [Son](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son/) [Son and daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/son-and-daughter/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Stuff happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff-happens/) [Wanted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanted/) ## Related quotes > [There's a lot of romance to sort of living by your own rules and sort of not subscribing to what society tells you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/there-s-a-lot-of-romance-to-sort-of-living-by-your-own-rules-and-sort/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [“When you live in a society that tells you that your true self is wrong, when you fear judgment, you learn to hide it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-peach/when-you-live-in-a-society-that-tells-you-that-your-true-self-is/) [Hanna Peach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-peach/) > [Society tells women that you can't be a complex human being with contradicting qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/society-tells-women-that-you-can-t-be-a-complex-human-being-with/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) > [Society tells women that if they aren't beautiful then they're worthless. Don't let society tell you who you are or what you're worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/society-tells-women-that-if-they-aren-t-beautiful-then-they-re/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [Being a person who has had plastic surgery and goes to the gym five days a week to work my muscles up so they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-wattleton/being-a-person-who-has-had-plastic-surgery-and-goes-to-the-gym-five/) [Faye Wattleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-wattleton/) > [Girls do what their mothers tell them. Ladies do what society tells them. Women make up their own minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-kijewski/girls-do-what-their-mothers-tell-them-ladies-do-what-society-tells/) [Karen Kijewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-kijewski/) > [I just hope that people, women specifically, embrace that side of themselves that maybe is a little nuts or that society tells us is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mollen/i-just-hope-that-people-women-specifically-embrace-that-side-of/) [Jenny Mollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mollen/) > [I just know who I am and what's comfortable for me and I don't personally do things in life because others do it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/i-just-know-who-i-am-and-what-s-comfortable-for-me-and-i-don-t/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“Every society tells its members that they must obey some superhuman moral law, and that breaking this law will result in catastrophe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/every-society-tells-its-members-that-they-must-obey-some-superhuman/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Society tells women that they have to be responsible for the emotional health of their relationships and then tells them they're weak for feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisha-rai/society-tells-women-that-they-have-to-be-responsible-for-the/) [Alisha Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisha-rai/) > [“But no-one came here to live an ordinary life. Despite what our somnambulistic, mythless society society tells us — a place stuffed to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thea-euryphaessa/but-no-one-came-here-to-live-an-ordinary-life-despite-what-our/) [Thea Euryphaessa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thea-euryphaessa/) > [The pressure to keep up with what society tells us is perfect is causing us to enter a time when women are no longer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-hobbs/the-pressure-to-keep-up-with-what-society-tells-us-is-perfect-is/) [Chelsea Hobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-hobbs/) > [Society tells you that you can't be smart and sexy, and that's totally wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/society-tells-you-that-you-can-t-be-smart-and-sexy-and-that-s-totally/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) > [Most people don't see that they have options beyond what society tells them to do. That's the biggest problem. They honestly believe that compliance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/most-people-don-t-see-that-they-have-options-beyond-what-society/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The stories a society tells about itself are a measure of how it values itself, the ideals of democracy, and its future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/the-stories-a-society-tells-about-itself-are-a-measure-of-how-it/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) ## More by Jonathan Martin > [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/) > [Our scars reveal who we are. The fact that we have experienced profound suffering in life—the fact that we carry what may seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/our-scars-reveal-who-we-are-the-fact-that-we-have-experienced/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [“It is possible to fail, and not have our faith fail us. It is possible to lose our lives, and not lose our souls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/it-is-possible-to-fail-and-not-have-our-faith-fail-us-it-is-possible/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [It turns out that knowing how loved we are by God makes all the difference in the kind of people we will become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/it-turns-out-that-knowing-how-loved-we-are-by-god-makes-all-the/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [We come to the table not because we are holy, but because we are in need of His holiness. We come to the table…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/we-come-to-the-table-not-because-we-are-holy-but-because-we-are-in/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) [Explore all 6 Jonathan Martin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [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/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Obscurity is where God sends all His favorite sons and daughters. Our society tells us that if and when we get ‘there’—the job or position or degree we’ve always wanted, the notoriety we’ve always dreamed of—that’s when all the important stuff will start happening. Not so. All the good stuff happens in obscurity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jonathan Martin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-favorite-sons-and-daughters-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-favorite-sons-and-daughters-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/jonathan-martin-54888_children_obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-fav_687591.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/jonathan-martin-54888_children_obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-fav_687591.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93f/jonathan-martin-54888_children_obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-fav_687591.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Obscurity is where God sends all His favorite sons and daughters. Our society tells us that if and when we…” — Jonathan Martin", "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": "Jonathan Martin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Obscurity is where God sends all...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-favorite-sons-and-daughters-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/obscurity-is-where-god-sends-all-his-favorite-sons-and-daughters-our/#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 } } ] } ```