--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The love that makes community is the…" description: "\"The love that makes community is the willingness to do someone else's dirty work.\" — Shane Claiborne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/shane-claiborne-960_community_the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-wil_1160695.png" --- # The love that makes community is the willingness to do… ![“The love that makes community is the willingness to do someone else's dirty work.” quote by Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/shane-claiborne-960_community_the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-wil_1160695.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/shane-claiborne-960_community_the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-wil_1160695.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/shane-claiborne-960_community_the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-wil_1160695.png) > “The love that makes community is the willingness to do someone else's dirty work.” [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. Community thrives when members willingly take on tasks others avoid, fostering mutual support and shared responsibility. **In simple terms:** Helping each other builds community. Key Takeaway Do the work others avoid. Themes community service solidarity humility Mood compassionate reflective Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - volunteer projects - neighborhood clean‑ups - team projects - family caregiving Key Concepts reciprocity altruism social cohesion Questions to Reflect On - What tasks are you avoiding that could help others? - How does shared labor strengthen bonds? A Different Perspective If willingness is forced, it can breed resentment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-willingness-3321596/) [Dirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty/) [Dirty work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty-work/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Makes Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-community-399246/) [Willingness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness/) [Willingness Dirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willingness-dirty-3321595/) ## Related quotes > [I can say the willingness to get dirty has always defined us as an nation, and it's a hallmark of hard work and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/i-can-say-the-willingness-to-get-dirty-has-always-defined-us-as-an/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [What makes community organizing especially attractive is the faith it places in the ability of the poor to make decisions for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wellstone/what-makes-community-organizing-especially-attractive-is-the-faith-it/) [Paul Wellstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wellstone/) > [It is not the fact that we are united in common goals or purposes that makes us a community. Rather, it is the fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/it-is-not-the-fact-that-we-are-united-in-common-goals-or-purposes/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [If people are watching television by themselves, it makes them part of a community of people laughing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-feldon/if-people-are-watching-television-by-themselves-it-makes-them-part-of/) [Barbara Feldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-feldon/) > [I did a lot of heavy-lifting - construction, demolition, that kind of thing. Dusty, dirty work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sixto-rodriguez/i-did-a-lot-of-heavy-lifting-construction-demolition-that-kind-of/) [Sixto Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sixto-rodriguez/) > [If it is wrong for you to take money from someone else who earned it, to take their money by force for your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-boortz/if-it-is-wrong-for-you-to-take-money-from-someone-else-who-earned-it/) [Neal Boortz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-boortz/) > [The dirty work at political conventions is almost always done in the grim hours between midnight and dawn. Hangmen and politicians work best when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/the-dirty-work-at-political-conventions-is-almost-always-done-in-the/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [Unfortunately, I'm not 185 and 6-3 and can run and catch fade routes all game. I do the dirty work. I'm all good. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darnell-dockett/unfortunately-i-m-not-185-and-6-3-and-can-run-and-catch-fade-routes/) [Darnell Dockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darnell-dockett/) > [The division is based on knowledge, based on qualifications - but as I learned from the factionless, a system that relies on a group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/the-division-is-based-on-knowledge-based-on-qualifications-but-as-i/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [Even today I am willing to volunteer to do the dirty work for Israel, to kill as many Arabs as necessary, to deport them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/even-today-i-am-willing-to-volunteer-to-do-the-dirty-work-for-israel/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [ The recording process \[ for 'Dirty Work'\] took longer than anticipated, because we kept going on tour in between the recording process to make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-barakat/the-recording-process-for-dirty-work-took-longer-than-anticipated/) [Jack Barakat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-barakat/) > [“He was doing Tony’s dirty work, in a way—like Tony had done his in New York. One hand washing the other, neither of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-voinov/he-was-doing-tony-s-dirty-work-in-a-way-like-tony-had-done-his-in-new/) [Aleksandr Voinov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-voinov/) > [Lisa Vanderpump is a manipulative person and when I was on the show I did a lot of her dirty work for her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandi-glanville/lisa-vanderpump-is-a-manipulative-person-and-when-i-was-on-the-show-i/) [Brandi Glanville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandi-glanville/) > [Buddhism is a heresy on Hinduism. It was Hinduism that did the dirty work for Buddhism, by the time Buddha came along priest-craft was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/buddhism-is-a-heresy-on-hinduism-it-was-hinduism-that-did-the-dirty/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And besides; the problem of land, at its worst, is a bye one; distribute the earth as you will, the principal question remains inexorable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/and-besides-the-problem-of-land-at-its-worst-is-a-bye-one-distribute/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) ## 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 Community quotes > [Race is the idea that a human being is more superior than another human being, race in society grants illusional rights to mistreat each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/race-is-the-idea-that-a-human-being-is-more-superior-than-another/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikram-sarabhai/but-we-are-convinced-that-if-we-are-to-play-a-meaningful-role/) [Vikram Sarabhai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikram-sarabhai/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [The strains and stresses suffered by the individual in society are grounded in the normal functioning of that society (and of the individual!) rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-strains-and-stresses-suffered-by-the-individual-in-society-are/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Hackney gets a bit of a bad rap, but it's the only place I've ever lived that felt like a community. I know my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-horgan/hackney-gets-a-bit-of-a-bad-rap-but-it-s-the-only-place-i-ve-ever/) [Sharon Horgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-horgan/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [It rolls off my back. Ridicule doesn't mean anything - even from people you're supposed to wear knee pads around, like the scientific community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schultz/it-rolls-off-my-back-ridicule-doesn-t-mean-anything-even-from-people/) [Dwight Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schultz/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Parents who are stressed or disturbed will have more difficulty in meeting their children's needs. Parents who have little support--from friends, relatives, neighbors, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/parents-who-are-stressed-or-disturbed-will-have-more-difficulty-in/) [Sheila Kamerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-kamerman/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [Perhaps the greatest and least visible form of impoverishment caused by the Corporate State is the destruction of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/perhaps-the-greatest-and-least-visible-form-of-impoverishment-caused/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) [Browse all 13,840 Community quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The love that makes community is the willingness to do someone else's dirty work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shane Claiborne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-willingness-to-do-someone-else-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Community" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-willingness-to-do-someone-else-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/shane-claiborne-960_community_the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-wil_1160695.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/shane-claiborne-960_community_the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-wil_1160695.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e3/shane-claiborne-960_community_the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-wil_1160695.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The love that makes community is the willingness to do someone else's dirty work.” — Shane Claiborne", "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": "Shane Claiborne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The love that makes community is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-willingness-to-do-someone-else-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/the-love-that-makes-community-is-the-willingness-to-do-someone-else-s/#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 } } ] } ```