--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The common error today is to bring God so…" description: "\"The common error today is to bring God so close that we strip Him of His \"godness.\" We think we have him figured out. So God becomes our pal, our buddy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/joshua-harris-8529_buddy_the-common-error-today-is-to-bring-god-s_1532856.png" --- # The common error today is to bring God so close that we… ![“The common error today is to bring God so close that we strip Him of His "godness." We think we have him figured out. So God becomes our pal, our buddy, our Divine Butler." from "Dug Down Deep” quote by Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/joshua-harris-8529_buddy_the-common-error-today-is-to-bring-god-s_1532856.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/joshua-harris-8529_buddy_the-common-error-today-is-to-bring-god-s_1532856.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/joshua-harris-8529_buddy_the-common-error-today-is-to-bring-god-s_1532856.png) > “The common error today is to bring God so close that we strip Him of His "godness." We think we have him figured out. So God becomes our pal, our buddy, our Divine Butler." from "Dug Down Deep” [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Treating God as a casual friend reduces reverence, turning the divine into a servant rather than a sovereign. **In simple terms:** Seeing God as a buddy can diminish His majesty. Key Takeaway Maintain reverence while relating personally. Themes faith theology relationship Mood contemplative serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal prayer - church community - theological study - spiritual counseling Key Concepts spirituality religious practice Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance intimacy and awe? - What does reverence mean to you? 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I figured God probably existed, but I didn’t have the time or energy to investigate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/me-i-was-pretty-much-an-orthodox-agnostic-i-figured-god-probably/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“Religion gives us forms and shapes for God to fit into, but He constantly proves to be bigger, wider, and deeper than our boxes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-erre/religion-gives-us-forms-and-shapes-for-god-to-fit-into-but-he/) [Mike Erre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-erre/) > [I've always figured that if God wanted us to go to church a lot He'd have given us bigger behinds to sit on and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/i-ve-always-figured-that-if-god-wanted-us-to-go-to-church-a-lot-he-d/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [God can never be close. God can never be close because it would mean that there is some place where God is not. 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God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-mansfield/i-guess-a-lot-of-people-think-that-a-girl-who-shows-her-bosom-and/) [Jayne Mansfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-mansfield/) > [You see the moon but actually the moon are far away; You didn't see the GOD but GOD are so close to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-see-the-moon-but-actually-the-moon-are-far-away-you-didn-t-see/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is only one rule by which to judge if God is near us or is far away - the rule that God's word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/there-is-only-one-rule-by-which-to-judge-if-god-is-near-us-or-is-far/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“I know why men lose sight of the face of God: because it is so close.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parke-godwin/i-know-why-men-lose-sight-of-the-face-of-god-because-it-is-so-close/) [Parke Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parke-godwin/) > [“Tan lejos de Dios y tan cerca de los Estados Unidos! (Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the United States!)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porfirio-diaz/tan-lejos-de-dios-y-tan-cerca-de-los-estados-unidos-poor-mexico-so/) [Porfirio Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porfirio-diaz/) ## More by Joshua Harris > [The world takes us to a silver screen on which flickering images of passion and romance play, and as we watch, the world says,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-harris/the-world-takes-us-to-a-silver-screen-on-which-flickering-images-of/) [Joshua Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-harris/) > [When we define our happiness by some point in the future, it will never arrive. We'll keep waiting until tomorrow. 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