Able Quote by Timothy Keller
“While Christianity was able to agree with pagan writers that inordinate attachment to earthly goods can lead to unnecessary pain and grief, it also taught that the answer to this was not to love things less but to love God more than anything else. Only when our greatest love is God, a love that we cannot lose even in death, can we face all things with peace. Grief was not to be eliminated but seasoned and buoyed up with love and hope.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Reason for God by Timothy Keller, 2008
True peace comes from loving God above all, not from devaluing material possessions; grief is transformed by divine love and hope.
In simple terms: Love God more, not less of things; grief becomes hopeful.
Key Takeaway
Prioritize divine love over worldly attachments.
Themes
spirituality
grief
hope
faith
love
Mood
reflective
comforting
Type
theological
inspirational
When to use this quote
- personal loss
- bereavement
- financial stress
- career setbacks
- health crises
Key Concepts
theology
psychology
existentialism
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you cultivate love for God amidst material temptations?
- What practices help turn grief into hopeful trust?
A Different Perspective
Human frailty can limit the ability to fully trust divine love during intense suffering.
![“24 A few pages later, Delbanco writes the following: [Alexis de] Tocqueville’s detection of a “strange melancholy in the midst of abundance” has a special salience today — because while we have gotten very good at deconstructing old stories (the religion that was the subject of my first chapter…” quote by Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/85a/timothy-keller-240_sad_24-a-few-pages-later-delbanco-writes-the_25320.jpg)
