--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you will here stop and ask yourselves…" description: "\"“If you will here stop and ask yourselves why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b2/william-law-8390_christianity_if-you-will-here-stop-and-ask-yourselves_1009559.png" --- # If you will here stop and ask yourselves why you are not… ![“If you will here stop and ask yourselves why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.” quote by William Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b2/william-law-8390_christianity_if-you-will-here-stop-and-ask-yourselves_1009559.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b2/william-law-8390_christianity_if-you-will-here-stop-and-ask-yourselves_1009559.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b2/william-law-8390_christianity_if-you-will-here-stop-and-ask-yourselves_1009559.png) > ““If you will here stop and ask yourselves why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will tell you, that it is neither through ignorance nor inability, but purely because you never thoroughly intended it.”” [William Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-law/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True piety requires intentional effort, not mere ignorance or inability. **In simple terms:** Being devout needs deliberate intention. Key Takeaway Intend to be devout. Themes faith intention spirituality Mood contemplative inspirational Type religious philosophical When to use this quote - daily prayer - ethical living - spiritual study Key Concepts theology personal discipline Questions to Reflect On - What intentional practices deepen your faith? - How can you overcome spiritual laziness? A Different Perspective Human nature often defaults to complacency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask Pious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-pious-2183032/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians/) [Christians Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christians-heart-2183031/) [Pious Primitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pious-primitive-2183030/) [Primitive Christians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/primitive-christians-779593/) ## Related quotes > [Now if you will stop here and ask yourself why you are not as pious as the primitive Christians were, your own heart will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-law/now-if-you-will-stop-here-and-ask-yourself-why-you-are-not-as-pious/) [William Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-law/) > [And we find from Church history that the primitive Christians thus understood it; for that women did actually speak and preach amongst them we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-booth/and-we-find-from-church-history-that-the-primitive-christians-thus/) [Catherine Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-booth/) > [If we look back into history for the character of the present sects in Christianity, we shall find few that have not in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/if-we-look-back-into-history-for-the-character-of-the-present-sects/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Prayers offered up in Christian worship in the earliest days of the faith were addressed to 'Our Lord the Sun,' evidencing that 'primitive' Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-boyd-kuhn/prayers-offered-up-in-christian-worship-in-the-earliest-days-of-the/) [Alvin Boyd Kuhn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-boyd-kuhn/) > [“it is always easy, as well as agreeable, for the the inferior ranks of mankind to claim a merit from the contempt of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/it-is-always-easy-as-well-as-agreeable-for-the-the-inferior-ranks-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The primitive Christians perpetually trod on mystic ground, and their minds were exercised by the habits of believing the most extraordinary events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-primitive-christians-perpetually-trod-on-mystic-ground-and-their/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Christians remind me of schoolboys who want to look up the answers to their math problems in the back of the book rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christians-remind-me-of-schoolboys-who-want-to-look-up-the-answers-to/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [ “\[O\]ur primary job as Christians is to love people, and we can't love from behind a barricade. 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