--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is a virtue and not a feeling. It is…" description: "\"Love is a virtue and not a feeling. It is fed and fired by God- not by the favorable response of the beloved. Even when it doesn't seem to make a dime'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/rich-mullins-4737_beloved_love-is-a-virtue-and-not-a-feeling-it-is_2256662.png" --- # Love is a virtue and not a feeling. It is fed and fired by… ![“Love is a virtue and not a feeling. It is fed and fired by God- not by the favorable response of the beloved. Even when it doesn't seem to make a dime's worth of difference to the ones on whom it is lavished, it is still the most prized of all virtues because it is at the heart of the very…” quote by Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/rich-mullins-4737_beloved_love-is-a-virtue-and-not-a-feeling-it-is_2256662.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/rich-mullins-4737_beloved_love-is-a-virtue-and-not-a-feeling-it-is_2256662.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17e/rich-mullins-4737_beloved_love-is-a-virtue-and-not-a-feeling-it-is_2256662.png) > “Love is a virtue and not a feeling. It is fed and fired by God- not by the favorable response of the beloved. Even when it doesn't seem to make a dime's worth of difference to the ones on whom it is lavished, it is still the most prized of all virtues because it is at the heart of the very character of God.” [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Divine love is a steadfast virtue, independent of human approval, reflecting God's character. **In simple terms:** God's love is a virtue, not a feeling. Key Takeaway Cultivate love as a principle, not emotion. Themes spirituality virtue divine love Mood reflective inspirational Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - faith practice - personal growth Key Concepts theology selfless love Questions to Reflect On - How do you practice love without reward? - What virtues guide your actions? A Different Perspective Love can feel distant without visible results. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beloved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character of god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-of-god/) [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Dimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimes/) [Feds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feds/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Love Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-virtue/) [Response](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/response/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Virtue Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue-feeling-3767249/) [Virtues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues/) [Virtues Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtues-heart-2733727/) ## Related quotes > [Obedience is the only virtue that plants the other virtues in the heart and preserves them after they have been planted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-gregory-i/obedience-is-the-only-virtue-that-plants-the-other-virtues-in-the/) [Pope Gregory I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-gregory-i/) > [Deliberate virtue is never worth much: The virtue of feeling or habit is the thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/deliberate-virtue-is-never-worth-much-the-virtue-of-feeling-or-habit/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Modesty is hardly to be described as a virtue. It is a feeling rather than a disposition. It is a kind of fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/modesty-is-hardly-to-be-described-as-a-virtue-it-is-a-feeling-rather/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Music like religion, unconditionally brings in its train all the moral virtues to the heart it enters, even though that heart is not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-joseph-emile-montegut/music-like-religion-unconditionally-brings-in-its-train-all-the-moral/) [Jean-Baptiste Joseph Emile Montegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-joseph-emile-montegut/) > [What fervent love of herself would Virtue excite if she could be seen!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/what-fervent-love-of-herself-would-virtue-excite-if-she-could-be-seen/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Love is a virtue; it grows stronger and purer and less selfish by applying it to what it loathes; but theft is a vice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleister-crowley/love-is-a-virtue-it-grows-stronger-and-purer-and-less-selfish-by/) [Aleister Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleister-crowley/) > [The only rules not meant to be broken are those of love and virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deacon-jones/the-only-rules-not-meant-to-be-broken-are-those-of-love-and-virtue/) [Deacon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deacon-jones/) > [The good refrain from sin from the pure love of virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-good-refrain-from-sin-from-the-pure-love-of-virtue/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [If love is the soul of Christian existence, it must be at the heart of every other Christian virtue. Thus, for example, justice without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rohr/if-love-is-the-soul-of-christian-existence-it-must-be-at-the-heart-of/) [Richard Rohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rohr/) > [Love Virtue, she alone is free, She can teach ye how to climb Higher than the sphery chime; Or, if Virtue feeble were, Heav'n…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/love-virtue-she-alone-is-free-she-can-teach-ye-how-to-climb-higher/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“The earth would be covered with men amongst whom there world would be almost no communication; we would make contact at some points without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-earth-would-be-covered-with-men-amongst-whom-there-world-would-be/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [It is difficult to persuade mankind that the love of virtue is the love of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/it-is-difficult-to-persuade-mankind-that-the-love-of-virtue-is-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [“The principals are quite simple. We can love people who treat us well. We cannot love people who treat us badly because, treating someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/the-principals-are-quite-simple-we-can-love-people-who-treat-us-well/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [ “\[I\]n love, man declares himself unsatisfied in his individuality taken by itself, he postulates the existence of another as a need of the heart;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-feuerbach/i-n-love-man-declares-himself-unsatisfied-in-his-individuality-taken/) [Ludwig Feuerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-feuerbach/) > [And what is faith, love, virtue unassayed Alone, without exterior help sustained?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-what-is-faith-love-virtue-unassayed-alone-without-exterior-help/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) ## More by Rich Mullins > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I grew up hearing everyone tell me 'God loves you'. I would say big deal, God loves everybody. That don't make me special! That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-grew-up-hearing-everyone-tell-me-god-loves-you-i-would-say-big-deal/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [“I am thinking now of old Moses sitting on a mountain—sitting with God—looking across the Jordan into the Promised Land. I am thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-am-thinking-now-of-old-moses-sitting-on-a-mountain-sitting-with-god/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I think that of all the diseases in the world, the disease that all humankind suffers from, the disease that is most devastating to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-think-that-of-all-the-diseases-in-the-world-the-disease-that-all/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [God spoke to Balaam through his ass. I believe God still speaks through asses today. So if God should choose to speak through you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/god-spoke-to-balaam-through-his-ass-i-believe-god-still-speaks/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [Theres a wideness in Gods mercy I cannot find in my own And He keeps His fire burning To melt this heart of stone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/theres-a-wideness-in-gods-mercy-i-cannot-find-in-my-own-and-he-keeps/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [Prayer is a grace through which we pour ourselves out before God and through which He calls us into His presence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/prayer-is-a-grace-through-which-we-pour-ourselves-out-before-god-and/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I think, you know, the thing everybody really wants to know anyway is not what the theory of relativity is, but I think what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-think-you-know-the-thing-everybody-really-wants-to-know-anyway-is/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [“Bear in mind, children, that they listen to you because you are kids—not because you are right. That's how our Father listens to us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/bear-in-mind-children-that-they-listen-to-you-because-you-are-kids/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/never-forget-what-jesus-did-for-you-never-take-lightly-what-it-cost/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [There's a difference, you know, between faith and playing make-believe. One will make you grow. The other one will make you sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/there-s-a-difference-you-know-between-faith-and-playing-make-believe/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [There's people been friendly But they'd never be your friends Sometimes this has bent me to the ground](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/there-s-people-been-friendly-but-they-d-never-be-your-friends/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [And step by step You'll lead me / And I will follow You all of my days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/and-step-by-step-you-ll-lead-me-and-i-will-follow-you-all-of-my-days/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I had a professor one time... He said, 'Class, you will forget almost everything I will teach you in here, so please remember this:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-had-a-professor-one-time-he-said-class-you-will-forget-almost/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I think I would envy me too, if I didn't know me better...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-think-i-would-envy-me-too-if-i-didn-t-know-me-better/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) [Explore all 107 Rich Mullins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) ## More Beloved quotes > [My Chosen Daughter, No one can define you without your permission. I want you to be so secure in who you are in Me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/god/my-chosen-daughter-no-one-can-define-you-without-your-permission-i/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/god/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [I made you, dear, and all I make is perfect. Please come close, for I desire you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/i-made-you-dear-and-all-i-make-is-perfect-please-come-close-for-i/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [My beloved like a jewel on my crown, In my vast and blue sky you are like a full-moon. I wish to stay entrapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranjan-dey/my-beloved-like-a-jewel-on-my-crown-in-my-vast-and-blue-sky-you-are/) [Ranjan Dey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranjan-dey/) > [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [Rest you well, beloved Jesus, Caesar’s Lord and Israel’s King, In the brooding of the Spirit, in the darkness of the spring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/rest-you-well-beloved-jesus-caesar-s-lord-and-israel-s-king-in-the/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [My beloved friend - one of the most unique and charming personalities of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/my-beloved-friend-one-of-the-most-unique-and-charming-personalities/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [A lover goes toward his beloved as enthusiastically as a schoolboy leaving his books, but when he leaves his girlfriend, he feels as miserable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-lover-goes-toward-his-beloved-as-enthusiastically-as-a-schoolboy/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I lost my dad when I was younger, and I know what its like to lose a beloved parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-elkeles/i-lost-my-dad-when-i-was-younger-and-i-know-what-its-like-to-lose-a/) [Simone Elkeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-elkeles/) > [My beloved dog defied treatment from the best and most expensive veterinarians, holistic practitioners, trainers, and animal communicators. He was simply beyond my ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-katz/my-beloved-dog-defied-treatment-from-the-best-and-most-expensive/) [Jon Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-katz/) > [Perhaps if only once you did enjoy The thousandth part of all the happiness A heart beloved enjoys, returning love, Repentant, you would surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/perhaps-if-only-once-you-did-enjoy-the-thousandth-part-of-all-the/) [Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Browse all 1,440 Beloved quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beloved/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love is a virtue and not a feeling. It is fed and fired by God- not by the favorable response of the beloved. 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