--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Bible says that our real problem is…" description: "\"The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of us is building our identity on something besides Jesus.\" — Timothy Keller" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/timothy-keller-240_bible_the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is_3005733.png" --- # The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of… ![“The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of us is building our identity on something besides Jesus.” quote by Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/timothy-keller-240_bible_the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is_3005733.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/timothy-keller-240_bible_the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is_3005733.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/timothy-keller-240_bible_the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is_3005733.png) > “The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of us is building our identity on something besides Jesus.” [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People often base identity on things other than Jesus, leading to spiritual emptiness. **In simple terms:** Identity built on non‑Jesus foundations is flawed. Key Takeaway Center identity on spiritual truth. Themes identity spirituality religion Mood thoughtful serious Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - church teaching - personal testimony Key Concepts theology personal growth cultural influences Questions to Reflect On - What truly defines you? - How can you shift focus to deeper meaning? A Different Perspective Identity crises can cause conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Bible Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible-says/) [Building](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building/) [Building Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/building-identity-1038820/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Identity Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity-jesus-963640/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-problem/) [Real problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-problems/) ## Related quotes > [There is a danger of building an identity around the idea of being smart because it is very easy to become off-putting, to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-munroe/there-is-a-danger-of-building-an-identity-around-the-idea-of-being/) [Randall Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-munroe/) > ['Balika Vadhu' happened to me because I worked hard in my earlier shows. So, in a way, they are responsible for building my identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sriti-jha/balika-vadhu-happened-to-me-because-i-worked-hard-in-my-earlier-shows/) [Sriti Jha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sriti-jha/) > [The real problem with the IRS is that they let General Electric not pay any taxes -- and 50 other corporations -- that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/the-real-problem-with-the-irs-is-that-they-let-general-electric-not/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [The problem with working with a coach isn't that we don't know what to do. The real problem is that we don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-problem-with-working-with-a-coach-isn-t-that-we-don-t-know-what/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The real problem is the total capitulation of German social democracy to capitalism, reflected and symbolized by actual extreme center coalition governments in Germany,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ali/the-real-problem-is-the-total-capitulation-of-german-social-democracy/) [Tariq Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ali/) > [The only real problem in your life is how you're using your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-keyes-jr/the-only-real-problem-in-your-life-is-how-you-re-using-your-mind/) [Ken Keyes Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-keyes-jr/) > [I know that people who have been closely involved with my work for many years are terrified of having to answer to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-armani/i-know-that-people-who-have-been-closely-involved-with-my-work-for/) [Giorgio Armani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-armani/) > [Our idea of a real problem is someone else's idea of an ultimate dream. Put the 'problem' in perspective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/our-idea-of-a-real-problem-is-someone-else-s-idea-of-an-ultimate/) [Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/) > [The real problem is, people think life is a ladder, and it's really a wheel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-de-lint/the-real-problem-is-people-think-life-is-a-ladder-and-it-s-really-a/) [Charles de Lint](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-de-lint/) > [Science has brought forth this danger, but the real problem is in the minds and hearts of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/science-has-brought-forth-this-danger-but-the-real-problem-is-in-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Our conflict is in relationship, at all levels of our existence; and the understanding of this relationship, completely and extensively, is the only real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/our-conflict-is-in-relationship-at-all-levels-of-our-existence-and/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [In other words, the real problem is not exterior. The real problem is interior. The real problem is how to get people to internally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/in-other-words-the-real-problem-is-not-exterior-the-real-problem-is/) [Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/) > [The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-lacey/the-real-problem-of-leisure-time-is-how-to-keep-others-from-using/) [Arthur Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-lacey/) > [The real problem is that the financial base for our social security system is shrinking because the number of normal jobs is falling. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/the-real-problem-is-that-the-financial-base-for-our-social-security/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [The only real problem in life is what to do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-only-real-problem-in-life-is-what-to-do-next/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More by Timothy Keller > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [The more you rejoice in your own forgiveness, the quicker you will be to forgive others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-more-you-rejoice-in-your-own-forgiveness-the-quicker-you-will-be/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Evangelism will come organically in friendship if we don’t let our pride, fears, and pessimism cause us to hide our faith and heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/evangelism-will-come-organically-in-friendship-if-we-don-t-let-our/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“The coming of the messianic King occurs in two stages. At his first coming, he saved us from the penalty of sin and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-coming-of-the-messianic-king-occurs-in-two-stages-at-his-first/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ “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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/24-a-few-pages-later-delbanco-writes-the-following-alexis-de/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“To stay away from Christianity because part of the Bible's teaching is offensive to you assumes that if there is a God he wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/to-stay-away-from-christianity-because-part-of-the-bible-s-teaching/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-the-preaching-of-our-ministers-and-the-practice-of-our/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“of temple, presence, and sacrifice; of covenant and faithfulness; of kingdom and victory. When we seek to communicate the gospel to a particular culture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/of-temple-presence-and-sacrifice-of-covenant-and-faithfulness-of/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“Finally, you are ready to launch your church. Begin by developing action steps and goals that can be used as benchmarks to track your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/finally-you-are-ready-to-launch-your-church-begin-by-developing/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If you are a child of God, you don’t lose your status if you have a bad week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-a-child-of-god-you-don-t-lose-your-status-if-you-have-a/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [God's salvation does not come in response to a changed life. A changed life comes in response to the salvation, offered as a free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/god-s-salvation-does-not-come-in-response-to-a-changed-life-a-changed/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [“When anything in life is an absolute requirement for your happiness and self-worth, it is essentially an ‘idol,’ something you are actually worshiping. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/when-anything-in-life-is-an-absolute-requirement-for-your-happiness/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Suffering is the stripping of our hope in finite things, therefore we do not put our ultimate hope in anything finite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/suffering-is-the-stripping-of-our-hope-in-finite-things-therefore-we/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Christ will do everything for you or nothing. He's either all of your righteousness or none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/christ-will-do-everything-for-you-or-nothing-he-s-either-all-of-your/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [If we give God things in hope that they'll earn us blessings, we're really not doing anything for him. It's for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-we-give-god-things-in-hope-that-they-ll-earn-us-blessings-we-re/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) [Explore all 843 Timothy Keller quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) [Robert A. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-peterson/) > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) [Stephen Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-taylor/) > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) [Walsham How](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walsham-how/) > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? 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They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of us is building our identity on something besides Jesus.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Keller" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is-that-every-one-of-us-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is-that-every-one-of-us-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/timothy-keller-240_bible_the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is_3005733.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/timothy-keller-240_bible_the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is_3005733.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e87/timothy-keller-240_bible_the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is_3005733.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The Bible says that our real problem is that every one of us is building our identity on something besides…” — Timothy Keller", "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": "Timothy Keller", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The Bible says that our real...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is-that-every-one-of-us-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-bible-says-that-our-real-problem-is-that-every-one-of-us-is/#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 } } ] } ```