--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have to use our discontentment to…" description: "\"We have to use our discontentment to engage rather than disengage - our hope has to be more powerful than our cynicism.\" — Shane Claiborne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbd/shane-claiborne-960_cynicism_we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-eng_3150549.jpg" --- # We have to use our discontentment to engage rather than… ![“We have to use our discontentment to engage rather than disengage - our hope has to be more powerful than our cynicism.” quote by Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbd/shane-claiborne-960_cynicism_we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-eng_3150549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbd/shane-claiborne-960_cynicism_we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-eng_3150549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbd/shane-claiborne-960_cynicism_we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-eng_3150549.jpg) > “We have to use our discontentment to engage rather than disengage - our hope has to be more powerful than our cynicism.” [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. Channel frustration into constructive action, letting hope outweigh cynicism to drive engagement. **In simple terms:** Turn discontent into positive action. Key Takeaway Let hope guide your involvement. Themes activism hope cynicism engagement Mood determined optimistic Type inspirational motivational When to use this quote - community organizing - political campaigns - social media activism Key Concepts psychology social change motivation Questions to Reflect On - How can you transform personal frustration into collective progress? - What practices keep hope stronger than cynicism? A Different Perspective Hope alone may not overcome systemic barriers without concrete plans. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cynicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynicism/) [Discontentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discontentment/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Pessimism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pessimism/) ## Related quotes > [Discontentment is a gift. It's the stuff that changes the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/discontentment-is-a-gift-it-s-the-stuff-that-changes-the-world/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [There is a movement bubbling up that goes beyond cynicism and celebrates a new way of living, a generation that stops complaining about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/there-is-a-movement-bubbling-up-that-goes-beyond-cynicism-and/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [We can start by living by the Spirit while we stop following the heart of discontentment and doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-can-start-by-living-by-the-spirit-while-we-stop-following-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was not desirable for the proles to have strong political feelings. All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-not-desirable-for-the-proles-to-have-strong-political-feelings/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Discontentment happens when I don’t have what I want. Contentment happens when I realize that I have so much more than I deserve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-altrogge/discontentment-happens-when-i-don-t-have-what-i-want-contentment/) [Stephen Altrogge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-altrogge/) > [But I am all for love, and I am against marriage, particularly the arranged kind, because the arranged marriage gives you satisfaction. And love?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/but-i-am-all-for-love-and-i-am-against-marriage-particularly-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“When a man is discontented with himself, it has one advantage however, that it puts him into an excellent frame of mind for making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-sterne/when-a-man-is-discontented-with-himself-it-has-one-advantage-however/) Lawrence Sterne > [“Real happiness, however, comes from who we are—from who we’ve become. Real happiness comes from within. Likewise, discontentment is also a result of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-fields-millburn/real-happiness-however-comes-from-who-we-are-from-who-we-ve-become/) [Joshua Fields Millburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-fields-millburn/) > [I've always been dissatisfied, I know that. But lately I find that I reek of discontentment. It fills my throat, and it floods my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/i-ve-always-been-dissatisfied-i-know-that-but-lately-i-find-that-i/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [“The deep rumbling of discontent that we hear today is the thunder of disinherited masses rising from dungeons of oppression to the bright hills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-deep-rumbling-of-discontent-that-we-hear-today-is-the-thunder-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“How can one explain this trend towards a more colorless and shallow life? Well, the work was easier, if less healthy, and it brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/how-can-one-explain-this-trend-towards-a-more-colorless-and-shallow/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) > [“The reality is that stuff does not bring happiness. Instead, buying more than we need breeds nothing but discontentment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-soukup/the-reality-is-that-stuff-does-not-bring-happiness-instead-buying/) [Ruth Soukup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-soukup/) > [“So much of me longs to run after him and cry, 'Yes, yes, yes!' A few hours ago, when I wrote I could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dodie-smith/so-much-of-me-longs-to-run-after-him-and-cry-yes-yes-yes-a-few-hours/) [Dodie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dodie-smith/) > [If we are to say no to covetousness, we must learn to say yes to contentment. This involves learning to be content with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-begg/if-we-are-to-say-no-to-covetousness-we-must-learn-to-say-yes-to/) [Alistair Begg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-begg/) > [Without discontentment, without revolt, you can never attain harmony. It is a necessary stage, which must be gone through by everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/without-discontentment-without-revolt-you-can-never-attain-harmony-it/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) ## 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 Cynicism quotes > [Scepticism and cynicism about politics is so great that one of the best counters to it is what you can do at a local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-miliband/scepticism-and-cynicism-about-politics-is-so-great-that-one-of-the/) [Ed Miliband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-miliband/) > [“Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up faster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-oxenhandler/wish-in-one-hand-shit-in-the-other-see-which-one-fills-up-faster/) Noelle Oxenhandler > [There's a distinct unease about Americans when they are outside the United States. I can't say quite what it is, but they are easily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/there-s-a-distinct-unease-about-americans-when-they-are-outside-the/) [Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/) > [If you're going to reach for it, reach all the way for it. Albums like 'Purple Rain' and 'Thriller' and those kind of records,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-sitek/if-you-re-going-to-reach-for-it-reach-all-the-way-for-it-albums-like/) [Dave Sitek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-sitek/) > [There have been times when a particularly heavy dose of such cynicism has caused me to reflect that surely this is the age and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/there-have-been-times-when-a-particularly-heavy-dose-of-such-cynicism/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I think growing up in Indiana prepares anyone for a life in comedy. I do feel like there is a certain kind of self-effacing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/i-think-growing-up-in-indiana-prepares-anyone-for-a-life-in-comedy-i/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [“That's what I've never been able to get about religion: that charmless combination of altruism and insanity. Give me a cynical, self-interested bastard any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-carey/that-s-what-i-ve-never-been-able-to-get-about-religion-that-charmless/) [Mike Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-carey/) > [We will need to work hard to break the cynicism, talk straight and rebuild trust in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-benn/we-will-need-to-work-hard-to-break-the-cynicism-talk-straight-and/) [Hilary Benn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-benn/) > [Nothing is more urgent than a serious, dare I say compassionate, debate as to where we are going at home and abroad. Technicians cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/nothing-is-more-urgent-than-a-serious-dare-i-say-compassionate-debate/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“In a fractured age, when cynicism is god, here is a possible heresy: we live by stories, we also live in them. One way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/in-a-fractured-age-when-cynicism-is-god-here-is-a-possible-heresy-we/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [Only the broken-hearted idealist can become a cynic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-clifton/only-the-broken-hearted-idealist-can-become-a-cynic/) Mark Clifton > [What's important is how we use our time on this earth, not how conspicuously we give our money away. What's important is the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pallotta/what-s-important-is-how-we-use-our-time-on-this-earth-not-how/) [Dan Pallotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pallotta/) [Browse all 890 Cynicism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cynicism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have to use our discontentment to engage rather than disengage - our hope has to be more powerful than our cynicism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shane Claiborne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-engage-rather-than-disengage-our/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cynicism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-engage-rather-than-disengage-our/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbd/shane-claiborne-960_cynicism_we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-eng_3150549.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbd/shane-claiborne-960_cynicism_we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-eng_3150549.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbd/shane-claiborne-960_cynicism_we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-eng_3150549.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have to use our discontentment to engage rather than disengage - our hope has to be more powerful than…” — 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": "We have to use our discontentment...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-engage-rather-than-disengage-our/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-have-to-use-our-discontentment-to-engage-rather-than-disengage-our/#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 } } ] } ```