“How often this is true. You have allowed the material means by which you live to outdistance the spiritual ends for which you live.”
Share this quote
Source: Paul's Letter to American Christians (1956)
About this quote
In Paul's Letter to American Christians (1956), King uses a focused ethical claim to examine spirituality, with attention to often, allowed, material. The practical center is the relationship between economic justice and outdistance and spiritual, giving readers a specific lens for judgment and action.
When to use it
- A community organizer builds a meeting around often before participants choose one measurable action related to spirituality.
- A teacher pairs the passage from Paul's Letter to American Christians (1956) with a primary-source exercise about economic justice and public responsibility.
- A team leader uses the tension between allowed and spiritual to discuss conduct under pressure.