--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We've learned how to lengthen life, but…" description: "\"We've learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how to deepen it.\" — Vance Havner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/vance-havner-1699_deepen_we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-w_1621859.jpg" --- # We've learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how… ![“We've learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how to deepen it.” quote by Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/vance-havner-1699_deepen_we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-w_1621859.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/vance-havner-1699_deepen_we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-w_1621859.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/vance-havner-1699_deepen_we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-w_1621859.jpg) > “We've learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how to deepen it.” [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It points out that while we extend lifespan, we lack depth in living meaningfully. **In simple terms:** Longer lives lack depth. Key Takeaway Seek depth over length. Themes longevity meaning well‑being Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - healthcare - personal growth - spiritual practice Key Concepts existential quality of life Questions to Reflect On - What does a deep life look like? - How can we cultivate depth daily? A Different Perspective Depth may be limited by societal pressures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deepen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepen/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [To save time is to lengthen life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-adler/to-save-time-is-to-lengthen-life/) [Alfred Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-adler/) > [It is astonishing how much more anxious people are to lengthen life than to improve it; and as misers often lose large sums of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/it-is-astonishing-how-much-more-anxious-people-are-to-lengthen-life/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > ['Laughing At Your Own Mistakes, Can Lengthen Your Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/laughing-at-your-own-mistakes-can-lengthen-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Science has taught us to lengthen life. Now we must learn to make a longer life worth living. Older people deserve choices that let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hayes/science-has-taught-us-to-lengthen-life-now-we-must-learn-to-make-a/) [Helen Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hayes/) > [Don't let situation control you but learn to adapt to them so that you won't be moved.this will lengthen your life span.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-joseph/don-t-let-situation-control-you-but-learn-to-adapt-to-them-so-that/) [Jesse Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-joseph/) > [We must lengthen our stride and must do it now because we over ate and feel fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/we-must-lengthen-our-stride-and-must-do-it-now-because-we-over-ate/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [I hope that having my life and having an education will lengthen my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-watson/i-hope-that-having-my-life-and-having-an-education-will-lengthen-my/) [Emma Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-watson/) > [To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/to-lengthen-thy-life-lessen-thy-meals/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [But stories somehow lengthen when begun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/but-stories-somehow-lengthen-when-begun/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [“There’s nothing but what’s bearable as long as a man can work,” he said to himself; “the natur o’ things doesn’t change, though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-s-nothing-but-what-s-bearable-as-long-as-a-man-can-work-he-said/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Let us strive the more earnestly therefore to lengthen out our span of life-- life that is poured out like water and falls as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pliny-the-younger/let-us-strive-the-more-earnestly-therefore-to-lengthen-out-our-span/) [Pliny the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pliny-the-younger/) > [Lengthen your stride/go the extra mile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/lengthen-your-stride-go-the-extra-mile/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [Wander a whole summer if you can. Thousands of God's blessings will search you and soak you as if you were a sponge, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wander-a-whole-summer-if-you-can-thousands-of-god-s-blessings-will/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Wander a whole summer if you can. Time will not be taken from the sum of life. Instead of shortening, it will definitely lengthen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/wander-a-whole-summer-if-you-can-time-will-not-be-taken-from-the-sum/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [If you can put a guy behind the plate that can hit in the middle of the order, it's just obviously gonna lengthen your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buster-posey/if-you-can-put-a-guy-behind-the-plate-that-can-hit-in-the-middle-of/) [Buster Posey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buster-posey/) ## More by Vance Havner > [Plenty of church members are shaky about what they believe, while not many are shaken by what they believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/plenty-of-church-members-are-shaky-about-what-they-believe-while-not/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [It is one thing to say Jesus is all you want; until He is all you have and you discover He is all you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/it-is-one-thing-to-say-jesus-is-all-you-want-until-he-is-all-you-have/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [There are many who say they want to be victorious Christians, but few are willing to endure the discipline necessary to make one a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/there-are-many-who-say-they-want-to-be-victorious-christians-but-few/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [The only way to meet the modern demon-stration of the powers of darkness is by a demonstration of the power of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/the-only-way-to-meet-the-modern-demon-stration-of-the-powers-of/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [God is on the lookout today for a man who will be quiet enough to get a message from Him, brave enough to preach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/god-is-on-the-lookout-today-for-a-man-who-will-be-quiet-enough-to-get/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [The last word of our Lord to the church was not the Great Commission. The last thing He said to the church was 'Repent.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/the-last-word-of-our-lord-to-the-church-was-not-the-great-commission/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [Salt seasons, purifies, preserves. But somebody ought to remind us that salt also irritates. Real living Christianity rubs this world the wrong way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/salt-seasons-purifies-preserves-but-somebody-ought-to-remind-us-that/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [I can conceive of no greater, more romantic and interesting adventure than to undertake to live like Jesus in this complicated day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/i-can-conceive-of-no-greater-more-romantic-and-interesting-adventure/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [The church is so subnormal that if it ever got back to the New Testament normal it would seem to people to be abnormal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/the-church-is-so-subnormal-that-if-it-ever-got-back-to-the-new/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [A preacher who is too big for a little crowd would be too little for a big crowd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/a-preacher-who-is-too-big-for-a-little-crowd-would-be-too-little-for/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [Jesus Christ demands more complete allegiance than any dictator who ever lived. The difference is, He has a right to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/jesus-christ-demands-more-complete-allegiance-than-any-dictator-who/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [In other days people chose a church on the basis of their doctrinal convictions. Now, lacking doctrinal convictions, they choose for social reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/in-other-days-people-chose-a-church-on-the-basis-of-their-doctrinal/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [We honor God by asking for great things when they are a part of His promise. We dishonor Him and cheat ourselves when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/we-honor-god-by-asking-for-great-things-when-they-are-a-part-of-his/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [To some Christianity is an argument. To many it is a performance. To a few, it is experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/to-some-christianity-is-an-argument-to-many-it-is-a-performance-to-a/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) > [Doing leads more surely to talking than talking to doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/doing-leads-more-surely-to-talking-than-talking-to-doing/) [Vance Havner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) [Explore all 214 Vance Havner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/) ## More Deepen quotes > [Deepen your existing spiritual commitment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-buettner/deepen-your-existing-spiritual-commitment/) [Dan Buettner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-buettner/) > [“In good company your thoughts run, in solitude your thought is still; it goes deeper and makes for itself a deeper groove, delves. Delve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumer-godden/in-good-company-your-thoughts-run-in-solitude-your-thought-is-still/) [Rumer Godden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumer-godden/) > [When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yo-yo-ma/when-we-enlarge-our-view-of-the-world-we-deepen-our-understanding-of/) [Yo-Yo Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yo-yo-ma/) > [Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/writing-and-reading-decrease-our-sense-of-isolation-they-deepen-and/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [I embrace treats, but I'm also very wary of treats. Treats help us feel energized, appreciated, and enthusiastic - but very often, the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/i-embrace-treats-but-i-m-also-very-wary-of-treats-treats-help-us-feel/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [Deepen and broaden your awareness of yourself and all the blessings will flow. You need not seek anything, all will come to you most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/deepen-and-broaden-your-awareness-of-yourself-and-all-the-blessings/) [Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-nisargadatta-maharaj/) > [That is, we are bombarded by all kinds of images and influences and we have to fend some of them off if we're to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jay-lifton/that-is-we-are-bombarded-by-all-kinds-of-images-and-influences-and-we/) [Robert Jay Lifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jay-lifton/) > [My Jewishness and queerness are very interwoven, and, although they sometimes conflict culturally, intellectually and spiritually they deepen one another for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-furman/my-jewishness-and-queerness-are-very-interwoven-and-although-they/) [Ezra Furman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-furman/) > [I have lived pain, and my life can tell: I only deepen the wound of the world when I neglect to give thanks the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/i-have-lived-pain-and-my-life-can-tell-i-only-deepen-the-wound-of-the/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [“There is great joy in darkness. Deepen it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakim-sanai/there-is-great-joy-in-darkness-deepen-it/) [Hakim Sanai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakim-sanai/) > [“God doesn’t change, you deepen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-coffey/god-doesn-t-change-you-deepen/) Billy Coffey > [A shift toward access and service would deepen the big-box retailer's relationship to customers and win their loyalty. A service focus would bring more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gansky/a-shift-toward-access-and-service-would-deepen-the-big-box-retailer-s/) [Lisa Gansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gansky/) > [Unless the distant goals of meaning, greatness, and destiny are addressed, we can't make an intelligent decision about what to do tomorrow morning --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-koestenbaum/unless-the-distant-goals-of-meaning-greatness-and-destiny-are/) [Peter Koestenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-koestenbaum/) > [You cannot will yourself to be interested in something you're not interested in. But you can actively discover and deepen your interest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/you-cannot-will-yourself-to-be-interested-in-something-you-re-not/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“Deepen your faith in yourself. Nothing will be able To frighten or weaken you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/deepen-your-faith-in-yourself-nothing-will-be-able-to-frighten-or/) [Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/) [Browse all 35 Deepen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deepen/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We've learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how to deepen it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vance Havner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-we-don-t-know-how-to-deepen-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deepen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-we-don-t-know-how-to-deepen-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/vance-havner-1699_deepen_we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-w_1621859.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/vance-havner-1699_deepen_we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-w_1621859.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/vance-havner-1699_deepen_we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-w_1621859.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We've learned how to lengthen life, but we don't know how to deepen it.” — Vance Havner", "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": "Vance Havner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vance-havner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We've learned how to lengthen life,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-we-don-t-know-how-to-deepen-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vance-havner/we-ve-learned-how-to-lengthen-life-but-we-don-t-know-how-to-deepen-it/#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 } } ] } ```