--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You commit a sin of omission if you do…" description: "\"You commit a sin of omission if you do not utilize all the power that is within you. All men have claims on man, and to the man with special talents, t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2-207_action_you-commit-a-sin-of-omission-if-you-do-n_829190.jpg" --- # You commit a sin of omission if you do not utilize all the… ![“You commit a sin of omission if you do not utilize all the power that is within you. All men have claims on man, and to the man with special talents, this is a very special claim. It is required that a man take part in the actions and clashes of his” quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2-207_action_you-commit-a-sin-of-omission-if-you-do-n_829190.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2-207_action_you-commit-a-sin-of-omission-if-you-do-n_829190.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e41/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2-207_action_you-commit-a-sin-of-omission-if-you-do-n_829190.jpg) > “You commit a sin of omission if you do not utilize all the power that is within you. All men have claims on man, and to the man with special talents, this is a very special claim. It is required that a man take part in the actions and clashes of his” [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Neglecting one's abilities is a moral failing; those with talent owe society active contribution. **In simple terms:** Wasting talent is wrong; use your gifts for others. Key Takeaway Act on your abilities for the common good. Themes responsibility talent ethics social duty Mood reflective determined Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership - volunteer work - career development - community projects Key Concepts moral philosophy civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How can you identify your unique gifts? - What barriers prevent you from using them? A Different Perspective Talent alone is insufficient without effort and opportunity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Omission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/omission/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) ## Related quotes > [I would rather commit a sin of commission than a sin of omission, and the evangelical community is exactly the opposite. The evangelical community…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-moreland/i-would-rather-commit-a-sin-of-commission-than-a-sin-of-omission-and/) [J.P. Moreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-moreland/) > [The particular sin of omission which gives ground to the evil spirits is the believer’s passivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/the-particular-sin-of-omission-which-gives-ground-to-the-evil-spirits/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [All the opportunities you let slip by! The idea, the inspiration just doesn´t come fast enough. Instead of being open, you´re closed up tight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/all-the-opportunities-you-let-slip-by-the-idea-the-inspiration-just/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [ “However, we all sin by omission. Therefore, we are all sinners in constant need of a 'Savior'." ~R. Alan Woods \[2010\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/however-we-all-sin-by-omission-therefore-we-are-all-sinners-in/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [It is the sin of omission, the second kind of sin, That lays eggs under your skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/it-is-the-sin-of-omission-the-second-kind-of-sin-that-lays-eggs-under/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [In reference works, as in sin, omission is as bad as willful misbehavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mccracken/in-reference-works-as-in-sin-omission-is-as-bad-as-willful-misbehavior/) [Elizabeth McCracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mccracken/) > [“I would almost forget about Ida Durbin. But a sin of omission, if indeed that's what it was, can be like the rusty head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/i-would-almost-forget-about-ida-durbin-but-a-sin-of-omission-if/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [If you are proposing to commit a sin it is as well to commit it with intelligence. Otherwise you are insulting God as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-d-james/if-you-are-proposing-to-commit-a-sin-it-is-as-well-to-commit-it-with/) [P. D. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-d-james/) > [Every time that I think of the crucifixion of Christ, I commit the sin of envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/every-time-that-i-think-of-the-crucifixion-of-christ-i-commit-the-sin/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“A personal sin may be one of commission (doing something that is prohibited) or a sin of omission (failing to do what is required…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nelson/a-personal-sin-may-be-one-of-commission-doing-something-that-is/) [Thomas Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nelson/) > [“We don’t get to opt out of living on mission because we might not be appreciated. We’re not allowed to neglect the oppressed because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hatmaker/we-don-t-get-to-opt-out-of-living-on-mission-because-we-might-not-be/) [Jen Hatmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-hatmaker/) > [As with the government failures that made 9/11 possible, neglecting to prevent the crash of '08 was a sin of omission - less the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-weisberg/as-with-the-government-failures-that-made-9-11-possible-neglecting-to/) [Jacob Weisberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-weisberg/) > [“Every man makes many mistakes during his lifetime, but there's always one, a single decision, a sin of omission or commission, which towers above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-d-reagan/every-man-makes-many-mistakes-during-his-lifetime-but-there-s-always/) Simon D. Reagan > [Ingratitude is the frost that nips the flower even as it opens, that shrivels the generous apple on the branch, that freezes the fountain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-wroe/ingratitude-is-the-frost-that-nips-the-flower-even-as-it-opens-that/) [Ann Wroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-wroe/) > [Some voluntary castaways there will always be, whom no fostering kindness and no parental care can preserve from self-destruction; but if any are lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-southey/some-voluntary-castaways-there-will-always-be-whom-no-fostering/) [Robert Southey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-southey/) ## More by Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr > [“Every idea is an incitement. It offers itself for belief and if believed it is acted on unless some other belief outweighs it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/every-idea-is-an-incitement-it-offers-itself-for-belief-and-if/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/the-right-to-swing-my-fist-ends-where-the-other-man-s-nose-begins/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“We are very quiet there, but it is the quiet of a storm centre. .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/we-are-very-quiet-there-but-it-is-the-quiet-of-a-storm-centre/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“A child's education should begin at least 100 years before he was born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/a-child-s-education-should-begin-at-least-100-years-before-he-was-born/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [Man's mind, stretched by a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/man-s-mind-stretched-by-a-new-idea-never-goes-back-to-its-original/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“Academic life is but half life it is a withdrawal from the fight to utter smart things that cost you nothing except the thinking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/academic-life-is-but-half-life-it-is-a-withdrawal-from-the-fight-to/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“Every year, if not every day, we have to wager our salvation upon some prophecy based upon imperfect knowledge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/every-year-if-not-every-day-we-have-to-wager-our-salvation-upon-some/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“We believed that it was most desirable that the North should win, we believed in the principle that the Union is indissoluable, we, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/we-believed-that-it-was-most-desirable-that-the-north-should-win-we/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“A man who called everyone a damn fool is like a man who damns the weather. He only shows that he is not adapted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/a-man-who-called-everyone-a-damn-fool-is-like-a-man-who-damns-the/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“We have shared the incommunicable experience of war, we have felt, we still feel, the passion of life to its top. In our youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/we-have-shared-the-incommunicable-experience-of-war-we-have-felt-we/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“The rational study of law is still to a large extent the study of history. History must be a part of the study, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/the-rational-study-of-law-is-still-to-a-large-extent-the-study-of/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/take-a-music-bath-once-or-twice-a-week-for-a-few-seasons-and-you-will/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [To be seventy years young is sometimes for more cheerful and hopeful than to be forty years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/to-be-seventy-years-young-is-sometimes-for-more-cheerful-and-hopeful/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [“But, nevertheless, the generation that carried on the war has been set apart by its experience. Through our great good fortune, in our youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/but-nevertheless-the-generation-that-carried-on-the-war-has-been-set/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) > [I have no respect for the passion of equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/i-have-no-respect-for-the-passion-of-equality-which-seems-to-me/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) [Explore all 30 Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr-2/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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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! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. 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