--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Desire a thousand times more to be godly…" description: "\"“Desire a thousand times more to be godly, than to seem so.”\" — Richard Baxter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/richard-baxter-2985_desire_desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly_3220861.png" --- # Desire a thousand times more to be godly, than to seem so. ![“Desire a thousand times more to be godly, than to seem so.” quote by Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/richard-baxter-2985_desire_desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly_3220861.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/richard-baxter-2985_desire_desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly_3220861.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/richard-baxter-2985_desire_desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly_3220861.png) > ““Desire a thousand times more to be godly, than to seem so.”” [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocating genuine godliness over mere appearance, urging deeper spiritual commitment than superficial piety. **In simple terms:** Be truly godly, not just look it. Key Takeaway Prioritize authentic devotion over image. Themes spirituality authenticity appearance Mood serious ethical Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - church life - personal prayer - ethical decisions Key Concepts inner virtue moral integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you measure true godliness? - What risks arise from focusing on image? A Different Perspective External piety can mask emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Godly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godly/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [A day to God is a thousand years, Men walk around with a thousand fears. The true joy of love brings a thousand tears,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/a-day-to-god-is-a-thousand-years-men-walk-around-with-a-thousand/) [RZA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [“But, overall, I concluded the young-hack-versus-corporate-corruption thriller had potential. (The Ghost of Sir Felix Finch whines, "But it's been done a hundred times before!"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/but-overall-i-concluded-the-young-hack-versus-corporate-corruption/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [Being a bad writer a thousand times first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-simone/being-a-bad-writer-a-thousand-times-first/) [Gail Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-simone/) > [“In my dreams I've kissed your lips a thousand times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-richie/in-my-dreams-i-ve-kissed-your-lips-a-thousand-times/) [Lionel Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-richie/) > [“Your life has been lived a hundred times. A thousand times. It's not all that great, really. Don't take it so seriously. Don't handle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/your-life-has-been-lived-a-hundred-times-a-thousand-times-it-s-not/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“You're in a better place, I've heard a thousand times, And at least a thousand times I've rejoiced for you. But the reason why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercy-me-homesick/you-re-in-a-better-place-i-ve-heard-a-thousand-times-and-at-least-a/) Mercy Me - Homesick > [We must visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament a hundred thousand times a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-francis-de-sales/we-must-visit-jesus-in-the-blessed-sacrament-a-hundred-thousand-times/) [Saint Francis de Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-francis-de-sales/) > [“I could tell you a thousand times, How much I love you, It still would not do justice on how much I love you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-chillemi/i-could-tell-you-a-thousand-times-how-much-i-love-you-it-still-would/) [Stacey Chillemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-chillemi/) > [Sometimes you need to try a thousand times just to win](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-ramkran/sometimes-you-need-to-try-a-thousand-times-just-to-win/) [Christine Ramkran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-ramkran/) > [Ten thousand times I've done my best and all's to do again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/ten-thousand-times-i-ve-done-my-best-and-all-s-to-do-again/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [There are often some hundred times, a thousand times, before you can really see it for the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-morgenstern/there-are-often-some-hundred-times-a-thousand-times-before-you-can/) [Christian Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-morgenstern/) > [“Life was always ten thousand times more complicated than it seemed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-t-vargus/life-was-always-ten-thousand-times-more-complicated-than-it-seemed/) [L.T. Vargus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-t-vargus/) > [The idea of doing something that you've seen a thousand times before doesn't appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-phillippe/the-idea-of-doing-something-that-you-ve-seen-a-thousand-times-before/) [Ryan Phillippe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-phillippe/) > [“It's better to practice one thing a thousand times, than practice a thousand things one time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-c-wilson/it-s-better-to-practice-one-thing-a-thousand-times-than-practice-a/) Glenn C. Wilson > [“A thousand times a coward and not once a dead man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suad-amiry/a-thousand-times-a-coward-and-not-once-a-dead-man/) Suad Amiry ## More by Richard Baxter > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Most (Christians) have an ungrounded trust in Christ, hoping that He will pardon, justify and save them, while the world has their hearts, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/most-christians-have-an-ungrounded-trust-in-christ-hoping-that-he/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [My Lord, I have nothing to do in this World, but to seek and serve thee; I have nothing to do with a Heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/my-lord-i-have-nothing-to-do-in-this-world-but-to-seek-and-serve-thee/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [We must feel toward our people as a father toward his children; yea, the most tender love of a mother must not surpass ours.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/we-must-feel-toward-our-people-as-a-father-toward-his-children-yea/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [We are ignorant of things necessary, because we learn things superfluous and unnecessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/we-are-ignorant-of-things-necessary-because-we-learn-things/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [In a divine commonwealth holiness must have the principal honor and encouragement, and a great difference be made between the precious and the vile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/in-a-divine-commonwealth-holiness-must-have-the-principal-honor-and/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [God takes men's hearty desires and will, instead of the deed, where they have not power to fulfill it; but he never took the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/god-takes-men-s-hearty-desires-and-will-instead-of-the-deed-where/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Surely love is both work and wages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/surely-love-is-both-work-and-wages/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Naturally, men are prone to spin themselves a web of opinions out of their own brain, and to have a religion that may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/naturally-men-are-prone-to-spin-themselves-a-web-of-opinions-out-of/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“God never saved any man for being a preacher, nor because he was an able preacher; but because he was a justified, sanctified man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/god-never-saved-any-man-for-being-a-preacher-nor-because-he-was-an/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [A man pleaser cannot be true to God, because he is a servant to the enemies of his service; the wind of a man's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/a-man-pleaser-cannot-be-true-to-god-because-he-is-a-servant-to-the/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [“He is not drowning His sheep when He washeth them, nor killing them when He is shearing them. But by this He showeth that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/he-is-not-drowning-his-sheep-when-he-washeth-them-nor-killing-them/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Get masters of families to do their duty, and they will not only spare you a great deal of labor, but will much further…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/get-masters-of-families-to-do-their-duty-and-they-will-not-only-spare/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Christ leads me through no darker rooms than He went through before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/christ-leads-me-through-no-darker-rooms-than-he-went-through-before/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Such is the depth of the Christian Scriptures, that even if I were attempting to study them and nothing else from early boyhood to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/such-is-the-depth-of-the-christian-scriptures-that-even-if-i-were/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) [Explore all 143 Richard Baxter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Desire a thousand times more to be godly, than to seem so.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Baxter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly-than-to-seem-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly-than-to-seem-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/richard-baxter-2985_desire_desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly_3220861.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/richard-baxter-2985_desire_desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly_3220861.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a23/richard-baxter-2985_desire_desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly_3220861.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Desire a thousand times more to be godly, than to seem so.” — Richard Baxter", "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": "Richard Baxter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Desire a thousand times more to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly-than-to-seem-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/desire-a-thousand-times-more-to-be-godly-than-to-seem-so/#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 } } ] } ```