Scott Sauls Quotes & Sayings

Anger isn't the opposite of love. Hate is, and the final form of hate is indifference.[17] — Scott Sauls

Why does a little girl lose her emotional equilibrium in a moment of parental discipline, or a megastar musician forget who she is because of one criticism? Or why, when a text message or the subject line of an e-mail says, "We need to talk" (or for us pastors, "About your sermon") are we struck with a sudden feeling of doom? Why do we spend hours in the gym or in front of the mirror or online meticulously editing our social media profiles? Why is the perfect "selfie" such a large part of how we present ourselves to the world? Why do we live in constant disequilibrium about what our real or imagined critics might say about us? — Scott Sauls

When those who feel a need to distance themselves from Christianity are asked why, Mumford and other millennials cite several reasons. At the top of the list is weariness over the association of right-wing politics with mainstream Christianity. The "culture of Christianity" that Mumford and others want no part of tends to trace directly back to this association. In the realm of politics, millennials have culture-war fatigue. — Scott Sauls

According to a recent study reported in Relevant magazine, only 10 to 25 percent of the typical American congregation tithes (that is, gives the biblical starting point of 10 percent) to the church, the poor, and Kingdom causes. The same report concluded that if the remaining 75 to 90 percent of American Christians began to tithe regularly, then global hunger, starvation, and death from preventable diseases could be relieved within five years. Additionally, illiteracy could be eliminated, the world's water and sanitation issues could be solved, all overseas mission work could be fully funded, and over $100 billion per year would be left over for additional ministry.[18] — Scott Sauls

Success can work like an addiction - the more successes we have, the more successes we feel we must accumulate in order to keep feeling valuable. — Scott Sauls

Children provide us with a necessary gut check. They challenge the distorted value systems that inhibit us from loving well. They are God-given reminders of life as it's meant to be. Don't hinder the little children. Let them come to me. Jesus sweeping children up into his embrace is also an invitation - no, a command - to welcome them into ours as well. The children will be the better for it. And so will we. — Scott Sauls

it is in seeing and owning that we are crazy and damaged, it is in crying "uncle" to our failed self-reformation projects, it is in recognizing that we are most certainly "so unlike our Christ" - that Christ begins to change us. It is when we become tired of ourselves, weary of our own failed efforts, that Jesus meets us with hope. — Scott Sauls

Christianity always flourishes most as a life-giving minority, not as a powerful majority. It is through subversive, countercultural acts of love, justice, and service for the common good that Christianity has always gained the most ground. — Scott Sauls

Christians should be the most affirming people in the world. Rather than rushing to find fault, we should proactively seek opportunities to catch others doing good and to encourage (literally, "put courage into") others by verbalizing the ways that we are "happy at them" - whether they believe as we do or not[...] Non-Christians as well as Christians create beauty, speak words that are true, and perform deeds that serve the common good. This should be celebrated. — Scott Sauls

A shrinking net worth can be one of God's greatest hidden blessings. True freedom is found in the realization that "everything minus Jesus equals nothing" and "Jesus plus nothing equals everything." But sometimes, especially for those of us who have been given much, it takes having less material wealth to realize that the true wealth is found in Jesus. — Scott Sauls

Those of us who are concerned about the 'church-less Christian' phenomenon ... must first look at ourselves and ask to what degree *we* have contributed to the conditions that tempt some to hit eject on the local church. — Scott Sauls

He was not talking about literally drinking water. He was talking about how, for years, she had tried to quench her soul's thirst with men and sex. Jesus alone could give her what five cohabitations had promised but repeatedly failed to deliver. Jesus alone could satisfy her soul's thirst with a love that stays and is stronger than death. — Scott Sauls

Better to be lumped in with gluttons and drunks than with image-conscious Pharisees. — Scott Sauls