--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No wonder so many sermons are devoted…" description: "\"No wonder so many sermons are devoted exclusively to \"spiritual\" subjects. If one is living by the tithes of history's most destructive economy, then t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/wendell-berry-236_chiefs_no-wonder-so-many-sermons-are-devoted-ex_878405.jpg" --- # No wonder so many sermons are devoted exclusively to… ![“No wonder so many sermons are devoted exclusively to "spiritual" subjects. If one is living by the tithes of history's most destructive economy, then the disembodiment of the soul becomes the chief of worldly conveniences.” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/wendell-berry-236_chiefs_no-wonder-so-many-sermons-are-devoted-ex_878405.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/wendell-berry-236_chiefs_no-wonder-so-many-sermons-are-devoted-ex_878405.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e5b/wendell-berry-236_chiefs_no-wonder-so-many-sermons-are-devoted-ex_878405.jpg) > “No wonder so many sermons are devoted exclusively to "spiritual" subjects. If one is living by the tithes of history's most destructive economy, then the disembodiment of the soul becomes the chief of worldly conveniences.” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Spiritual focus neglects material realities; economic oppression can dominate and diminish spiritual life. **In simple terms:** Spiritual neglect occurs when material oppression dominates. Key Takeaway Balance spiritual and material concerns. Themes spirituality economics social critique Mood reflective critical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - policy making - community activism - personal budgeting - faith practice Key Concepts materialism alienation ethical living Questions to Reflect On - What role should spirituality play in economic injustice? - How can material needs be met without sacrificing spiritual health? A Different Perspective Spiritual pursuits may be dismissed as irrelevant in harsh economic conditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Tithe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tithe/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse — your whole nation — because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zondervan-publishing/in-tithes-and-offerings-you-are-under-a-curse-your-whole-nation/) [Zondervan Publishing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zondervan-publishing/) > [Are you honest with the Lord in the payment of your tithes? Living this divine law will bring both spiritual and material blessings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/are-you-honest-with-the-lord-in-the-payment-of-your-tithes-living/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [...pay your tithes and offerings out of honesty and integrity because they are God's rightful due...Paying tithing is not a token gift we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/pay-your-tithes-and-offerings-out-of-honesty-and-integrity-because/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [I have read all that has been written by the gravest authorities on political economy on the subject of rent, wages, taxes, tithes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-peel/i-have-read-all-that-has-been-written-by-the-gravest-authorities-on/) [Robert Peel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-peel/) > [But you are not under a system similar to that by which the Jews were obliged to pay tithes to the priests. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/but-you-are-not-under-a-system-similar-to-that-by-which-the-jews-were/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [I am persuaded, from all the facts that have come to me, that it would have been possible, if we had functioned as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-reuben-clark/i-am-persuaded-from-all-the-facts-that-have-come-to-me-that-it-would/) [J. Reuben Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-reuben-clark/) > [As we faithfully pay our tithes, the Lord will indeed open the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing, that there shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-f-child/as-we-faithfully-pay-our-tithes-the-lord-will-indeed-open-the-windows/) Sheldon F. Child > [For over forty years, in a spirit of love, members of the Church have been counseled to be thrifty and self-reliant; to avoid debt;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/for-over-forty-years-in-a-spirit-of-love-members-of-the-church-have/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [Tithing isn't the ceiling of giving; it's the floor. It's not the finish line of giving; it's just the starting blocks. Tithes can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-alcorn/tithing-isn-t-the-ceiling-of-giving-it-s-the-floor-it-s-not-the/) [Randy Alcorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-alcorn/) > [Giving is above what we owe God, and that is our tithes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-green/giving-is-above-what-we-owe-god-and-that-is-our-tithes/) [David Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-green/) > [“a week;  j I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13But the tax collector,  g standing far off,  k would not even lift up his eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-week-j-i-give-tithes-of-all-that-i-get-13but-the-tax-collector-g/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“tithes, and we were all convinced they had been stolen, but then they were found again, and in the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexa-adams/tithes-and-we-were-all-convinced-they-had-been-stolen-but-then-they/) Alexa Adams > [KEEP CALM AND PAY YOUR TITHES](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/keep-calm-and-pay-your-tithes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not used to paying tithes and I have never been under God's curse on account of that. And, if one day He considers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/i-m-not-used-to-paying-tithes-and-i-have-never-been-under-god-s-curse/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [My parents taught me to give Tithes and Offering which make things easier because I have my Name listed in Heaven. Isn't it too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myself/my-parents-taught-me-to-give-tithes-and-offering-which-make-things/) Myself ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. 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He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Chiefs quotes > [In every province, the chief occupations, in order of importance, are lovemaking, malicious gossip, and talking nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/in-every-province-the-chief-occupations-in-order-of-importance-are/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I always wanted to be a fireman, a cop, an Indian chief, a doctor, a lawyer. 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