--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: MOST of the ugliness in the human…" description: "\"MOST of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a distorted quest to possess beauty. COVETING begins with appreciating blessings: MURDER begins ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/shane-claiborne-960_adventure_most-of-the-ugliness-in-the-human-narrat_2602044.png" --- # MOST of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a… ![“MOST of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a distorted quest to possess beauty. COVETING begins with appreciating blessings: MURDER begins with a hunger for justice. LUST begins with a recognition of beauty. GLUTTONY begins when our enjoyment of the delectable gifts of GOD starts to…” quote by Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/shane-claiborne-960_adventure_most-of-the-ugliness-in-the-human-narrat_2602044.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/shane-claiborne-960_adventure_most-of-the-ugliness-in-the-human-narrat_2602044.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/357/shane-claiborne-960_adventure_most-of-the-ugliness-in-the-human-narrat_2602044.png) > “MOST of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a distorted quest to possess beauty. COVETING begins with appreciating blessings: MURDER begins with a hunger for justice. LUST begins with a recognition of beauty. GLUTTONY begins when our enjoyment of the delectable gifts of GOD starts to consume us. IDOLATRY begins when our seeing a reflection of God in something beautiful leads to our thinking that the beautiful image bearer is worthy of WORSHIP.” [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. Explores how various vices stem from misdirected desire for beauty, urging appreciation of blessings over coveting. **In simple terms:** Vices arise from twisted desire for beauty; cherish blessings instead. Key Takeaway Cultivate gratitude, avoid excess. Themes ethics spirituality human nature Mood reflective inspirational Type moral spiritual When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - community ethics Key Concepts desire beauty vice gratitude Questions to Reflect On - What blessings can you appreciate today? - How does gratitude prevent vice? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on beauty can lead to moral distortion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Appreciate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appreciate/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Beauty Coveting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-coveting-1953809/) [Beauty Gluttony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty-gluttony-1953807/) [Blessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blessing/) [Coveting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coveting/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Gift from god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-from-god/) [Gluttony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gluttony/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Idolatry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idolatry/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Murder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murder/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Quests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quests/) [Recognition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recognition/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Something beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something-beautiful/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Ugliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness/) [Ugliness Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ugliness-human-1953808/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) [Worthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthy/) ## Related quotes > [What a lovely place this world would be if only people would feel affection for everyone else, and all the ugliness of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayo-masuda/what-a-lovely-place-this-world-would-be-if-only-people-would-feel/) [Sayo Masuda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayo-masuda/) > [There's something beautiful about that Scripture that says, "Your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams" (Acts 2:17). We need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-s-something-beautiful-about-that-scripture-that-says-your-young/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [... a bad attitude, that the love of money is the root of all evil and the rich are evil and greedy and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/a-bad-attitude-that-the-love-of-money-is-the-root-of-all-evil-and-the/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [We are ever striving after what is forbidden, and coveting what is denied us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/we-are-ever-striving-after-what-is-forbidden-and-coveting-what-is/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Coveting is about craving something to the point of distraction and dysfunction. People think coveting is about craving the things you don’t have. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unka-glen/coveting-is-about-craving-something-to-the-point-of-distraction-and/) [Unka Glen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unka-glen/) > [There is no sin coveting things are of no great use or profit, but would show out good and have some grandeur around them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gregory/there-is-no-sin-coveting-things-are-of-no-great-use-or-profit-but/) [Lady Gregory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gregory/) > [Crouchers move through a garden at a stoop: naming, gasping, horraying, admiring or coveting plants; Gapers saunter, smiling or sighing at what they find,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirabel-osler/crouchers-move-through-a-garden-at-a-stoop-naming-gasping-horraying/) [Mirabel Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirabel-osler/) > [Well-being is possible to the degree to which one has overcome one's narcissism; to the degree to which one is open, responsive, sensitive, awake,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/well-being-is-possible-to-the-degree-to-which-one-has-overcome-one-s/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“When I realize that God makes his gifts fit each person, there's no way I can covet what you got because it just wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-smith/when-i-realize-that-god-makes-his-gifts-fit-each-person-there-s-no/) [William P. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-smith/) > [Stubborn selfishness leads otherwise good people to fight over herds, patches of sand, and strippings of milk. All this results from what the Lord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/stubborn-selfishness-leads-otherwise-good-people-to-fight-over-herds/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Greed and desire Not peace, but fire Coveting creation Created damnation Pulled alongside A gate thrown too wide Now our home calls And darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/greed-and-desire-not-peace-but-fire-coveting-creation-created/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [Old school feminism, coveting social power, is blind to woman's cosmic sexual power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/old-school-feminism-coveting-social-power-is-blind-to-woman-s-cosmic/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [He won healing, He won deliverance, He won financial prosperity, mental prosperity, physical prosperity, family prosperity. He said He would meet my needs according…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-copeland/he-won-healing-he-won-deliverance-he-won-financial-prosperity-mental/) [Kenneth Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-copeland/) > [Thou shalt not covet; but tradition approves all forms of competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hugh-clough/thou-shalt-not-covet-but-tradition-approves-all-forms-of-competition/) [Arthur Hugh Clough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hugh-clough/) > [“I’d always defined jealousy as coveting what someone else has.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammara-webber/i-d-always-defined-jealousy-as-coveting-what-someone-else-has/) [Tammara Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammara-webber/) ## 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 Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence-2/) > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Browse all 7,690 Adventure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "MOST of the ugliness in the human narrative comes from a distorted quest to possess beauty. COVETING begins with appreciating blessings: MURDER begins with a hunger for justice. LUST begins with a recognition of beauty. 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