--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are not built for ourselves, but for…" description: "\"We are not built for ourselves, but for God. Not for service for God, but for God.\" — Oswald Chambers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/oswald-chambers-205_built_we-are-not-built-for-ourselves-but-for-g_2478837.png" --- # We are not built for ourselves, but for God. Not for… ![“We are not built for ourselves, but for God. Not for service for God, but for God.” quote by Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/oswald-chambers-205_built_we-are-not-built-for-ourselves-but-for-g_2478837.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/oswald-chambers-205_built_we-are-not-built-for-ourselves-but-for-g_2478837.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/51a/oswald-chambers-205_built_we-are-not-built-for-ourselves-but-for-g_2478837.png) > “We are not built for ourselves, but for God. Not for service for God, but for God.” [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human purpose is oriented toward the divine, not self‑service. **In simple terms:** We exist for God, not ourselves. Key Takeaway Align actions with spiritual purpose. Themes faith purpose service Mood reflective devotional Type spiritual motivational When to use this quote - worship - volunteering - daily decision making Key Concepts theology existentialism self‑transcendence Questions to Reflect On - What does serving God look like in your life? - How do you balance personal needs with spiritual duties? A Different Perspective Human-centered motives can conflict with divine calling. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Service](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/service/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [In Jesus, the service of God and the service of the least of the brethren were one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/in-jesus-the-service-of-god-and-the-service-of-the-least-of-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The service to God is our service to humanity”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-service-to-god-is-our-service-to-humanity/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [You must flow with the will of God, in the service of God, to obtain the power of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/you-must-flow-with-the-will-of-god-in-the-service-of-god-to-obtain/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [ “service \[rendered\] to God does indeed profit God nothing, nor has God need of human obedience; but He grants to those who follow and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/service-rendered-to-god-does-indeed-profit-god-nothing-nor-has-god/) The Church Fathers > [The one thing for which we are all being disciplined is to know that God is real. As soon as God becomes real, other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-one-thing-for-which-we-are-all-being-disciplined-is-to-know-that/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Built God a church and laughed His word to scorn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/built-god-a-church-and-laughed-his-word-to-scorn/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [“Service to humanity is service to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/service-to-humanity-is-service-to-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“People-based service is God-based service”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/people-based-service-is-god-based-service/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [No sooner is a Temple built to God but the Devill builds a Chappell hard by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/no-sooner-is-a-temple-built-to-god-but-the-devill-builds-a-chappell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“That which man builds man destroys, but the city of God is built by God and cannot be destroyed by man. AUGUSTINE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-w-colson/that-which-man-builds-man-destroys-but-the-city-of-god-is-built-by/) [Charles W. Colson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-w-colson/) > [The perfect world, by Adam trod, Was the first temple--built by God-- His fiat laid the corner stone, And heaved its pillars, one by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-parker-willis/the-perfect-world-by-adam-trod-was-the-first-temple-built-by-god-his/) [Nathaniel Parker Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-parker-willis/) > [The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-lasting-value-of-our-public-service-for-god-is-measured-by-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [All service is the same with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/all-service-is-the-same-with-god/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [None who are shod with fleshly shoes can stand on the holy ground of God's service. Many failures and much waste and confusion which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/none-who-are-shod-with-fleshly-shoes-can-stand-on-the-holy-ground-of/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [Power always thinks... that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/power-always-thinks-that-it-is-doing-god-s-service-when-it-is/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) ## More by Oswald Chambers > [“If we deliberately choose to obey God, then He will tax the remotest star and the last grain of sand to assist us with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-we-deliberately-choose-to-obey-god-then-he-will-tax-the-remotest/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/realize-that-the-lord-is-here-now-and-the-freedom-you-receive-is/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [You will never cease to be the most amazed person on earth at what God has done for you on the inside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/you-will-never-cease-to-be-the-most-amazed-person-on-earth-at-what/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [When Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross, it was not the blood of a martyr; or the blood of one man for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/when-jesus-christ-shed-his-blood-on-the-cross-it-was-not-the-blood-of/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Sorrow burns up a great amount of shallowness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/sorrow-burns-up-a-great-amount-of-shallowness/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“Let circumstances take you where they will, but keep drawing on the grace of God in whatever condition you may find yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/let-circumstances-take-you-where-they-will-but-keep-drawing-on-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-goal-of-faithfulness-is-not-that-we-will-do-work-for-god-but-that/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-are-in-danger-of-forgetting-that-we-cannot-do-what-god-does-and/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“It is a solemn thing, and no small scandal in the Kingdom, to see God's children starving while actually seated at the Father's table.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/it-is-a-solemn-thing-and-no-small-scandal-in-the-kingdom-to-see-god-s/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“If my holiness is not drawing towards Him, it is not holiness of the right order, but an influence that will awaken inordinate affection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/if-my-holiness-is-not-drawing-towards-him-it-is-not-holiness-of-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“My spiritual history must have as its underlying foundation a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ. To be born again means that I see Jesus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/my-spiritual-history-must-have-as-its-underlying-foundation-a/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [We always have visions, before a thing is made real. When we realize that although the vision is real, it is not real in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-always-have-visions-before-a-thing-is-made-real-when-we-realize/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The lasting value of our public service for God is measured by the depth of the intimacy of our private times of fellowship and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-lasting-value-of-our-public-service-for-god-is-measured-by-the/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The thing that awakens the deepest fountain of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven his sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-thing-that-awakens-the-deepest-fountain-of-gratitude-in-a-human/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The secret of the missionary is...I am His, and He is carrying out His work through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-secret-of-the-missionary-is-i-am-his-and-he-is-carrying-out-his/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) [Explore all 922 Oswald Chambers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) ## More Built quotes > [It's really fun and challenging to build things that have never been built before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mason/it-s-really-fun-and-challenging-to-build-things-that-have-never-been/) [Hilary Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mason/) > [Astronomers have built telescopes which can show myriads of stars unseen before; but when a man looks through a tear in his own eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/astronomers-have-built-telescopes-which-can-show-myriads-of-stars/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [So I concentrated on the rhythmic side of things, and therefore left a lot of holes. I didn't want to use big pad chords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/midge-ure/so-i-concentrated-on-the-rhythmic-side-of-things-and-therefore-left-a/) [Midge Ure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/midge-ure/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [Most startups are not just built for the person who is using them. When you do that, every now and then you get really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-shear/most-startups-are-not-just-built-for-the-person-who-is-using-them/) [Emmett Shear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-shear/) > [Call me the rap assassinator / rhymes rugged and built like Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/call-me-the-rap-assassinator-rhymes-rugged-and-built-like/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) > [Do we make ourselves into what we become or is it built into our genes, into the fate spun for us by whatever shapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-bruchac/do-we-make-ourselves-into-what-we-become-or-is-it-built-into-our/) [Joseph Bruchac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-bruchac/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [The dark ages still reign over all humanity, and the depth and persistence of this domination are only now becoming clear. This Dark Ages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-dark-ages-still-reign-over-all-humanity-and-the-depth-and/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [God and I have built an immense fire together. We keep each other happy and warm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/god-and-i-have-built-an-immense-fire-together-we-keep-each-other/) [Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/) > [When we built Roomba, we explicitly designed it to not have a face. We didn't want to think it was cute; we wanted people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-angle/when-we-built-roomba-we-explicitly-designed-it-to-not-have-a-face-we/) [Colin Angle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-angle/) > [Winning a competition in architecture is a ticket to oblivion. It's just an idea. Ninety-nine per cent never get built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-libeskind/winning-a-competition-in-architecture-is-a-ticket-to-oblivion-it-s/) [Daniel Libeskind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-libeskind/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Mostly what I'm focused on is finding people who are younger who haven't built companies before but have a good idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hughes/mostly-what-i-m-focused-on-is-finding-people-who-are-younger-who/) [Chris Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hughes/) > [“Imagine what I could have done in ten years. I could have learned to speak Japanese. I could have played every RPG video game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/imagine-what-i-could-have-done-in-ten-years-i-could-have-learned-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 3,164 Built quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are not built for ourselves, but for God. 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