Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
Family life is too intimate to be preserved by the spirit of justice. It can only be sustained by a spirit of love which goes beyond justice. Justice requires that we carefully weigh rights and privileges and assure that each member of a community receives his due share. Love does not weigh rights and privileges too carefully because it prompts each to bear the burden of the other.
Interpretation
Family life thrives on love rather than strict justice.
Reinhold Niebuhr's quote emphasizes that the essence of family relationships is rooted in love, which transcends the need for strict justice. While justice is concerned with fair treatment and distribution of rights and privileges, love fosters an environment where family members support and care for one another selflessly, prioritizing the well-being of each over rigid fairness.
In practice
During a family gathering, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of love over fairness.
Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.
The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.
The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery.
All you earnest young men out to save the world. . . please, have a laugh.
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.
I keep my family out of my public life because it can be an awful nuisance to them. What's my mother going to tell strangers anyway? That I was a cute baby and that she's terribly proud of me? Nuts. Who cares?
Tying the little folks with the older folks is a great and powerful tool to preserve and to protect the family and the individual.
Parents remain our touchstones, fellow travelers, even after death. They are both missing and present.
If your dad died before you were born, yeah, it hurts - but it's not like you had a connection with something that was real. Not to say it's any better - but to have that connection and then have it ripped away was, like, the worst. My dad was such a good dad that when he left, he left a huge scar. He was my superhero.
My children come first and the career comes in around that.
One night, I wrote down all the things I was waiting to do with my little granddaughter, and it became a book, 'I Already Know I Love You.' It was one of those really lovely things in life.
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