--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Disobedience happens not when we think…" description: "\"Disobedience happens not when we think too much grace but when we think too little of it\" — Tullian Tchividjian" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tullian-tchividjian-1105_disobedience_disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-t_1570384.png" --- # Disobedience happens not when we think too much grace but… ![“Disobedience happens not when we think too much grace but when we think too little of it” quote by Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tullian-tchividjian-1105_disobedience_disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-t_1570384.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tullian-tchividjian-1105_disobedience_disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-t_1570384.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tullian-tchividjian-1105_disobedience_disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-t_1570384.png) > “Disobedience happens not when we think too much grace but when we think too little of it” [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Obedience fails when we neglect grace, suggesting that true obedience requires an awareness of divine grace rather than mere rule‑following. **In simple terms:** Obedience needs grace, not just rules. Key Takeaway Integrate grace into decisions. Themes faith obedience grace spirituality Mood contemplative inspirational Type religious philosophical When to use this quote - personal moral choices - church leadership - daily conduct Key Concepts theology ethics humility Questions to Reflect On - How does grace shape your choices? - Can you practice obedience without losing freedom? A Different Perspective Ignoring grace can lead to legalism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grace/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“gravity chains us to the asphalt with such grace, we think it is kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-o-connor/gravity-chains-us-to-the-asphalt-with-such-grace-we-think-it-is-kind/) Maura O'Connor > [From my years on 'Will & Grace,' you'd think I'm Madonna.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jordan/from-my-years-on-will-grace-you-d-think-i-m-madonna/) [Leslie Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jordan/) > [If you contemplate the Golden Rule, it turns out to be an injunction to live by grace rather than by what you think other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-you-contemplate-the-golden-rule-it-turns-out-to-be-an-injunction/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“My wife likes to pause before the meals with our kids and say grace. While I think this is a great opportunity for our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-gaffigan/my-wife-likes-to-pause-before-the-meals-with-our-kids-and-say-grace/) [Jim Gaffigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-gaffigan/) > [I think that grace and love always rattle people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bell/i-think-that-grace-and-love-always-rattle-people/) [Rob Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bell/) > [A man does not possess all the gifts, lest he think that grace is nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/a-man-does-not-possess-all-the-gifts-lest-he-think-that-grace-is/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) > [I think about 'Will & Grace,' and I think about 'Modern Family,' and the way that being gay has become sort of middle America...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-groff/i-think-about-will-grace-and-i-think-about-modern-family-and-the-way/) [Jonathan Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-groff/) > [I think of Grace and feel a sharp pain in my chest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/i-think-of-grace-and-feel-a-sharp-pain-in-my-chest/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [It's not about the way you look It's not about your face It's all about the way you think It's all about your grace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-lethal/it-s-not-about-the-way-you-look-it-s-not-about-your-face-it-s-all/) [Mac Lethal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-lethal/) > [ I think Grace \[Dunham\] and I are always working from a personal place, and the fact that these were issues that we'd been talking… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/i-think-grace-dunham-and-i-are-always-working-from-a-personal-place/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [When we really start to take a look at who we think we are, we become very grace prone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/when-we-really-start-to-take-a-look-at-who-we-think-we-are-we-become/) [Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/) > [“Often we are not aware of how close we are to that which we need but we think we do not have. In His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/often-we-are-not-aware-of-how-close-we-are-to-that-which-we-need-but/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [I started to think of Grace of Monaco as a metaphor for women in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-dahan/i-started-to-think-of-grace-of-monaco-as-a-metaphor-for-women-in/) [Olivier Dahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-dahan/) > [It is good for us to think that no grace or blessing is truly ours till we are aware that God has blessed some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/it-is-good-for-us-to-think-that-no-grace-or-blessing-is-truly-ours/) [Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/) > [She couldn’t very well let him join her in bed like that. Sure you could. No I can’t. Please? Hush, self, let me think.’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/she-couldn-t-very-well-let-him-join-her-in-bed-like-that-sure-you/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) ## More by Tullian Tchividjian > [Grace is upside-down, to-do-list wrecking, scandalous and way-too free. It's one-way love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/grace-is-upside-down-to-do-list-wrecking-scandalous-and-way-too-free/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [“There is but one good,” C. S. Lewis writes in The Great Divorce; “that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/there-is-but-one-good-c-s-lewis-writes-in-the-great-divorce-that-is/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Once God saves us He doesn't move us beyond the gospel, but He moves us more deeply into the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/once-god-saves-us-he-doesn-t-move-us-beyond-the-gospel-but-he-moves/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [“An institution theoretically devoted to providing comfort to those in need (the church) is in trouble because it has embraced the same pressure cooker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/an-institution-theoretically-devoted-to-providing-comfort-to-those-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [A preacher who doesn't believe he's that bad will attract people who don't think they're that bad. And that's bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/a-preacher-who-doesn-t-believe-he-s-that-bad-will-attract-people-who/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/our-assurance-is-anchored-in-the-love-and-grace-of-god-expressed-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [I think for far too long the Church has concluded that Christians don't need the gospel, it's simple what non-Christian people need in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/i-think-for-far-too-long-the-church-has-concluded-that-christians-don/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [While our sin reaches far, God's grace reaches farther. God came after us not to strip away our freedom but to strip away our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/while-our-sin-reaches-far-god-s-grace-reaches-farther-god-came-after/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Jesus has done everything for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/jesus-has-done-everything-for-you/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [If you have suffered the loss of a family member to chronic disease, if you suffer debilitating seasons of depression, if you have lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/if-you-have-suffered-the-loss-of-a-family-member-to-chronic-disease/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [Sanctification consists of the daily realization that in Christ we have died, and in Christ we have been raised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/sanctification-consists-of-the-daily-realization-that-in-christ-we/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The ironic thing about legalism is that it not only doesn't make people work harder, it makes them give up. Moralism doesn't produce morality;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-ironic-thing-about-legalism-is-that-it-not-only-doesn-t-make/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The good news of suffering is that it brings us to the end of ourselves - a purpose it has certainly served in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-good-news-of-suffering-is-that-it-brings-us-to-the-end-of/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [The Gospel is not ultimately a defense from pain, it is the message of God's rescue through pain. In fact, it allows us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/the-gospel-is-not-ultimately-a-defense-from-pain-it-is-the-message-of/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [God is inviting you today to appropriately grieve your pains and losses and to acknowledge the world is seriously broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/god-is-inviting-you-today-to-appropriately-grieve-your-pains-and/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Explore all 292 Tullian Tchividjian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) ## More Disobedience quotes > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When you say 'no' and you get on the streets and you do an act of civil disobedience, it changes your psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/when-you-say-no-and-you-get-on-the-streets-and-you-do-an-act-of-civil/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [... professing myself moreover convinced that the general's unjust interference, so far from being really injurious to their felicity, was perhaps rather conducive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/professing-myself-moreover-convinced-that-the-general-s-unjust/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is a man's original virtue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/disobedience-in-the-eyes-of-anyone-who-has-read-history-is-a-man-s/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Disobedience of any kind, on any level, is sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/disobedience-of-any-kind-on-any-level-is-sin/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) > [Arrogance is a mixture of impertinence, disobedience, indiscipline, rudeness, harshness, and a self-assertive nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sivananda/arrogance-is-a-mixture-of-impertinence-disobedience-indiscipline/) [Sivananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sivananda/) > [Disobedience was man's Original Virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/disobedience-was-man-s-original-virtue/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [“...This is the arena in which a spiritualized disobedience means most. It doesn't mean a second New Deal, another massive bureaucratic attack on our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-white/this-is-the-arena-in-which-a-spiritualized-disobedience-means-most-it/) [Curtis White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-white/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [Satyagraha does not depend on outside help, it derives all its strength from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/satyagraha-does-not-depend-on-outside-help-it-derives-all-its/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [International affairs is very much run like the mafia. The godfather does not accept disobedience, even from a small storekeeper who doesn't pay his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/international-affairs-is-very-much-run-like-the-mafia-the-godfather/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Browse all 489 Disobedience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Disobedience happens not when we think too much grace but when we think too little of it", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tullian Tchividjian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-too-much-grace-but-when-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disobedience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-too-much-grace-but-when-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tullian-tchividjian-1105_disobedience_disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-t_1570384.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tullian-tchividjian-1105_disobedience_disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-t_1570384.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tullian-tchividjian-1105_disobedience_disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-t_1570384.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Disobedience happens not when we think too much grace but when we think too little of it” — Tullian Tchividjian", "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": "Tullian Tchividjian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Disobedience happens not when we think...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-too-much-grace-but-when-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/disobedience-happens-not-when-we-think-too-much-grace-but-when-we/#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 } } ] } ```