--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lord, what you call compassion, others…" description: "\"“Lord, what you call compassion, others call weakness. What you call conviction, others call dissidence. What you call love, others call mixing with si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/shane-claiborne-960_compassion_lord-what-you-call-compassion-others-cal_1670036.png" --- # Lord, what you call compassion, others call weakness. What… ![“Lord, what you call compassion, others call weakness. What you call conviction, others call dissidence. What you call love, others call mixing with sinners. We pray that we too might be found weak, dissident, and in bad company, especially if it means we are closer to you. Amen.” quote by Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/shane-claiborne-960_compassion_lord-what-you-call-compassion-others-cal_1670036.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/shane-claiborne-960_compassion_lord-what-you-call-compassion-others-cal_1670036.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/shane-claiborne-960_compassion_lord-what-you-call-compassion-others-cal_1670036.png) > ““Lord, what you call compassion, others call weakness. What you call conviction, others call dissidence. What you call love, others call mixing with sinners. We pray that we too might be found weak, dissident, and in bad company, especially if it means we are closer to you. Amen.”” [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Embracing traits often labeled as weakness or dissent can bring one closer to spiritual authenticity and community. **In simple terms:** Accepting perceived flaws can deepen spiritual connection. Key Takeaway Reframe negative labels as strengths in faith. Themes spirituality identity community Mood contemplative hopeful Type religious reflective When to use this quote - faith practice - social activism - personal reflection - group worship Key Concepts theology social stigma authenticity Questions to Reflect On - What “weaknesses” have you reclaimed as strengths? - How does embracing dissent shape your spiritual life? A Different Perspective Such identification may invite social alienation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Compassion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) [Compassion Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion-weakness-848629/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-others/) [Pray Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pray-weak-848631/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/) [Weakness Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness-conviction-848630/) ## Related quotes > [Your weakness is due to your conviction that you were born into the world. In reality the world is ever recreated in you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/your-weakness-is-due-to-your-conviction-that-you-were-born-into-the/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [Utterance does not in principle mean a weakening of conviction--that would not be anything to be deplored--but a weakness of conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/utterance-does-not-in-principle-mean-a-weakening-of-conviction-that/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Compassion is not weakness it's Christ-like”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lazarus-takawira/compassion-is-not-weakness-it-s-christ-like/) [Lazarus Takawira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lazarus-takawira/) > [“If keeping your word is the mark of a weak person, I pray for more weak people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-keeping-your-word-is-the-mark-of-a-weak-person-i-pray-for-more/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [So I pray for being so weak, and givin up, friends say I live the party life, livin it up. One hand on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-grae/so-i-pray-for-being-so-weak-and-givin-up-friends-say-i-live-the-party/) [Jean Grae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-grae/) > [Compassion is not weakness, and concern for the unfortunate is not socialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/compassion-is-not-weakness-and-concern-for-the-unfortunate-is-not/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [Here we don't pray for the weak, we prey on the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-mummert/here-we-don-t-pray-for-the-weak-we-prey-on-the-weak/) [Teresa Mummert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-mummert/) > [Your compassion is a weakness your enemies will not share,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-neeson/your-compassion-is-a-weakness-your-enemies-will-not-share/) [Liam Neeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-neeson/) > [“Mercy and weakness are the same thing in war, and there's no prize for nice behavior.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/mercy-and-weakness-are-the-same-thing-in-war-and-there-s-no-prize-for/) [Joe Abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [He got the notion into his head that if he restored the old house where they had come that night, Allie would find a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-notebook/he-got-the-notion-into-his-head-that-if-he-restored-the-old-house/) [The Notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-notebook/) > [“I see you. I see your strength and courage, your hesitations and fears. I see the way you love others, and your struggle to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-stabile/i-see-you-i-see-your-strength-and-courage-your-hesitations-and-fears/) [Scott Stabile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-stabile/) > [“Our life should be enjoyed and we need to learn to find our calling and purpose, so that we can live it joyfully. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-robert-payne/our-life-should-be-enjoyed-and-we-need-to-learn-to-find-our-calling/) [Matthew Robert Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-robert-payne/) > [If you say you love her why do you want to love others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hougham/if-you-say-you-love-her-why-do-you-want-to-love-others/) [Megan Hougham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hougham/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [If I want to be loved as I am, I have to be willing to love others as they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/if-i-want-to-be-loved-as-i-am-i-have-to-be-willing-to-love-others-as/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) ## More by Shane Claiborne > [“we can live without sex, but we cant live without love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-can-live-without-sex-but-we-cant-live-without-love/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [We're not church planters. We are community planters and, as we work in our communities, we join local churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-re-not-church-planters-we-are-community-planters-and-as-we-work-in/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [There are some - called 'death fatigue' - people who just grow so tired of death, so they don't want to keep perpetuating death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-are-some-called-death-fatigue-people-who-just-grow-so-tired-of/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Every 70-year-old needs a young person in their lives to mentor, and every 20-year-old needs a senior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/every-70-year-old-needs-a-young-person-in-their-lives-to-mentor-and/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [I just have a more holistic sense of what it means to be for life, knowing that life does not just begin at conception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/i-just-have-a-more-holistic-sense-of-what-it-means-to-be-for-life/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [It's not that hard to say slavery is wrong after we've abolished it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/it-s-not-that-hard-to-say-slavery-is-wrong-after-we-ve-abolished-it/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [We think of justice sometimes as getting what you deserve, you know - what crime was committed and what is the punishment for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-think-of-justice-sometimes-as-getting-what-you-deserve-you-know/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Mother Theresa said it is not how much we give that is important but how much love you put into doing it. So it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/mother-theresa-said-it-is-not-how-much-we-give-that-is-important-but/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [No one has seen God, but as we love one another, God lives in us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/no-one-has-seen-god-but-as-we-love-one-another-god-lives-in-us/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“If you find yourself climbing the ladder of success, be careful or else on your way up you might pass Jesus on his way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/if-you-find-yourself-climbing-the-ladder-of-success-be-careful-or/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [We need good laws, but no law can change a human heart - only God can do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-need-good-laws-but-no-law-can-change-a-human-heart-only-god-can-do/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [We're remembering each other's heroes, too. We are learning each other's songs. We are reminding ourselves that we are a global family praying together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-re-remembering-each-other-s-heroes-too-we-are-learning-each-other/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [There is a certain power when old and young come together - we can do more together than we can on our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-is-a-certain-power-when-old-and-young-come-together-we-can-do/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [You can't really learn God's hope like you learn the logic of an argument or the details of a story. It's more like learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/you-can-t-really-learn-god-s-hope-like-you-learn-the-logic-of-an/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [“Clarence Jordan, co-founder of Koinonia Farm, wrote, “The Good News of the resurrection is not that we shall die and go home with him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/clarence-jordan-co-founder-of-koinonia-farm-wrote-the-good-news-of/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) [Explore all 319 Shane Claiborne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) ## More Compassion quotes > [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“I fight with love and kindness as my weapons and compassion as my defense.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/i-fight-with-love-and-kindness-as-my-weapons-and-compassion-as-my/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [I really enjoy making people laugh; I've discovered that's a great technique. That's as powerful as stirring their sorrow, stirring their compassion, because that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/i-really-enjoy-making-people-laugh-i-ve-discovered-that-s-a-great/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“If you refuse to use physical force, then you will be at the mercy of your oppressor!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/segun-magbagbeola/if-you-refuse-to-use-physical-force-then-you-will-be-at-the-mercy-of/) [Segun Magbagbeola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/segun-magbagbeola/) > [For some reason, we are truly convinced that if we criticize ourselves, the criticism will lead to change. If we are harsh, we believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geneen-roth/for-some-reason-we-are-truly-convinced-that-if-we-criticize-ourselves/) [Geneen Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geneen-roth/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We are puzzled and bewildered whenever we see suffering in this world because we have become accustomed to the mercy and the long-suffering of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-sproul/we-are-puzzled-and-bewildered-whenever-we-see-suffering-in-this-world/) [R. C. Sproul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-c-sproul/) > [“Helpers in every corner, helpers in every hood. That's how we'll make the move, to reform from rude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/helpers-in-every-corner-helpers-in-every-hood-that-s-how-we-ll-make/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [May the gods have mercy on whoever pisses them off, because Zarek and Jericho will have none for them. (Madoc) You’d better be glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/may-the-gods-have-mercy-on-whoever-pisses-them-off-because-zarek-and/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [When you need empathy, you cannot give empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-b-rosenberg/when-you-need-empathy-you-cannot-give-empathy/) [Marshall B. Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-b-rosenberg/) > [But victimhood was seductive, a release from responsibility and caring. Fear would be transmuted into weary resignation; failure would no longer generate guilt but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-victimhood-was-seductive-a-release-from-responsibility-and-caring/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“No one has any right to tell you that the way you perceive yourself is wrong. Because by doing so, they also discourage the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/no-one-has-any-right-to-tell-you-that-the-way-you-perceive-yourself/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [“la ilaha ilallah muhammadun rasulullah, alaihi salatullah wa alihi wal ahibba "shine your mercy like the sun, and be gracious as the earth let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-al-habib/la-ilaha-ilallah-muhammadun-rasulullah-alaihi-salatullah-wa-alihi-wal/) [Talib al Habib](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-al-habib/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) [Browse all 9,892 Compassion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compassion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Lord, what you call compassion, others call weakness. 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