Criss Jami quote: "Unprovoked hostility is often but displaced self-defense: 'I must stop him before he stops me.' In many of such environments, nobody is really hateful so much as they are just fearful."

We are to love God most importantly so that we can grow to love people as he loved us, not so that w...
CRISS JAMI

A utopian system, when established by men, is likely to be synonymous with a dystopian depression. T...
CRISS JAMI

All individuals have moral deficiencies, and when introducing these to reality one not only strength...
CRISS JAMI

The pressure of adversity is the most powerful sustainer of accountability. It's as though everythin...
CRISS JAMI

You can't let the truth bring out the worst and let it get the best of you.
CRISS JAMI

I often find that people confuse inner peace with some sense of insensibility whenever something goe...
CRISS JAMI

But what good is the popular opinion, if the lot of us just process like minions?
CRISS JAMI

I never feel unsafe except for when the majority is on my side.
CRISS JAMI

When you're the only sane person, you look like the only insane person.
CRISS JAMI

As individuals die every moment, how insensitive and fabricated a love it is to set aside a day from...
CRISS JAMI

Great minds think alike because a greater Mind is thinking through them.
CRISS JAMI

Old words are reborn with new faces.
CRISS JAMI

If you want to find the real competition, just look in the mirror. After awhile you'll see your riva...
CRISS JAMI

Love is without a doubt the laziest theory for the meaning of life, but when it actually comes a tim...
CRISS JAMI

It is never ridicule, but a compliment, that knocks a philosopher off his feet. He is already positi...
CRISS JAMI

It has always seemed that a fear of judgment is the mark of guilt and the burden of insecurity.
CRISS JAMI

I find it a challenge to cooperate in a society where it's considered moral to critique a résumé y...
CRISS JAMI

When a poet digs himself into a hole, he doesn't climb out. He digs deeper, enjoys the scenery, and ...
CRISS JAMI

Only the man who thinks himself a fool is as wise as he thinks.
CRISS JAMI

If it's true what is said, that only the wise discover the wise, then it must also be true that the ...
CRISS JAMI

Wise men are not pacifists; they are merely less likely to jump up and retaliate against their antag...
CRISS JAMI

When good people consider you the bad guy, you develop a heart to help the bad ones. You actually un...
CRISS JAMI

If truth is like the terrain, are we the generation who sees it as one who has worn shoes all his li...
CRISS JAMI

If you are not there for other people, do not expect them to be there for you. In many a case one mi...
CRISS JAMI

To understand even remotely the holy omnipotence of God is to understand at least from mostly to who...
CRISS JAMI

Sure, some of us humans might be angry at a sovereign God about Hell, but know that that is about as...
CRISS JAMI

Sadly enough, some people are insecure in such a way that they cannot bear the thought of the sovere...
CRISS JAMI

God is not some lesser employee, as many try to make Him out to be: rather He is the ultimate Treasu...
CRISS JAMI

The skeptic says that the believer has lost his own mind under God. On the contrary, it is the peopl...
CRISS JAMI

Of all the major religions, or lack thereof, the atheist's is one of the best pretenders: his founda...
CRISS JAMI

God's relationship with man does not work in a way in which man stumbles and then God has to drop wh...
CRISS JAMI

If I were to believe in God enough to call him a murderer, then I might also believe enough that he,...
CRISS JAMI

Just as some people may conceal their own sinfulness thus seeming better than the norm, others expos...
CRISS JAMI

Who you are in public is a test of your conviction; who you are in private, integrity.
CRISS JAMI

Hypocrisy versus authenticity among men is not always so black and white, and as is righteousness, h...
CRISS JAMI

Always seek justice, but love only mercy. To love justice and hate mercy is but a doorway to more in...
CRISS JAMI

For the believer, humility is honesty about one's greatest flaws to a degree in which he is fearless...
CRISS JAMI

To seek greatness is the only righteous vengeance.
CRISS JAMI

The biggest challenge after success is shutting up about it.
CRISS JAMI

I'm convinced that most men don't know what they believe, rather, they only know what they wish to b...
CRISS JAMI

As Aristotle said, 'Excellence is a habit.' I would say furthermore that excellence is made constant...
CRISS JAMI

The harder you fall, the heavier your heart; the heavier your heart, the stronger you climb; the str...
CRISS JAMI

There was a time when skepticism was an act of rebellion. Since to a degree I both believe in evolut...
CRISS JAMI

A rebel adult often seems like a glorious savior, whereas a rebel child often seems like a little de...
CRISS JAMI

True rebels hate their own rebellion. They know by experience that it is not a cool and glamorous li...
CRISS JAMI

In some countries, the strictly Progressive man reveals himself to be just as much as if not more pr...
CRISS JAMI

Any fool can do something cool and look cool, but it takes skill to make something uncool cool again...
CRISS JAMI

People don't care about being duped as long as they're happy, which is the shortest form of happines...
CRISS JAMI

To say that one waits a lifetime for his soulmate to come around is a paradox. People eventually get...
CRISS JAMI

Together, we form a necessary paradox; not a senseless contradiction.
CRISS JAMI

Anger's like a battery that leaks acid right out of me
And it starts from the heart 'til it rea...
CRISS JAMI

Showing a lack of self-control is in the same vein granting authority to others: 'Perhaps I need som...
CRISS JAMI

Drunken men give some of the best pep talks.
CRISS JAMI

Closed in a room, my imagination becomes the universe, and the rest of the world is missing out.
CRISS JAMI

Telling an introvert to go to a party is like telling a saint to go to Hell.
CRISS JAMI

The reality of loving God is loving him like he's a Superhero who actually saved you from stuff rath...
CRISS JAMI

Trustful people are the pure at heart, as they are moved by the zeal of their own trustworthiness.
CRISS JAMI

Those who live as though God sets the rules are not going by their own rules. That is the self-sacri...
CRISS JAMI

To love without need or without expectation of restitution, that is how we ought to love.
CRISS JAMI

God favors men and women who delight in being made worthy of happiness before the happiness itself.
CRISS JAMI

If the entire world sought to make itself worthy of happiness rather than make itself happy, then th...
CRISS JAMI

Companionship is a foreign concept to some people. They fear it as much as the majority of people fe...
CRISS JAMI

Persistence. Perfection. Patience. Power. Prioritize your passion. It keeps you sane.
CRISS JAMI

Grudges are for those who insist that they are owed something; forgiveness, however, is for those wh...
CRISS JAMI

It's not about going around trying to stir up trouble. As long as you're honest and you articulate w...
CRISS JAMI

Never hide things from hardcore thinkers. They get more aggravated, more provoked by confusion than ...
CRISS JAMI

Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a ...
CRISS JAMI

When you're truly awesome, you know that it's actually a burden and wish day after day to be relieve...
CRISS JAMI

Listen to God with a broken heart. He is not only the doctor who mends it, but also the father who w...
CRISS JAMI

Don't change your mind just because people are offended; change your mind if you're wrong.
CRISS JAMI

There are two circumstances that lead to arrogance: one is when you're wrong and you can't face it; ...
CRISS JAMI

A sign of power in a man is not only when people follow what he suggests, but also when people make ...
CRISS JAMI

I would rather a romantic relationship turn into contempt than turn into apathy. The passion in the ...
CRISS JAMI

People love answers, but only as long as they are the ones who came up with them.
CRISS JAMI

A common mistake we make is that we look for God in places where we ourselves wish to find him, yet ...
CRISS JAMI

Love does not dwell on how much one receives in return. If there is ever any balance in love, it is ...
CRISS JAMI

The man who is most aggressive in teaching tolerance is the most intolerant of all: he wants a world...
CRISS JAMI

Simply minding one's own business is more offensive than being intrusive. Without ever saying a word...
CRISS JAMI

When a man is penalized for honesty he learns to lie.
CRISS JAMI

Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entit...
CRISS JAMI

If a man cannot understand the beauty of life, it is probably because life never understood the beau...
CRISS JAMI

What man ever openly apologizes for slander? It is not so much a feeling of slander as it is that of...
CRISS JAMI

Whenever I think of something but can't think of what it was I was thinking of, I can't stop thinkin...
CRISS JAMI

Everyone has a sense of humor. If you don't laugh at jokes, you probably laugh at opinions.
CRISS JAMI

I think there is a song out there to describe just about any situation.
CRISS JAMI

The greater ignorance towards a country is not ignoring what its politicians have to say, it is igno...
CRISS JAMI

When you're socially awkward, you're isolated more than usual, and when you're isolated more than us...
CRISS JAMI

The writer's curse is that even in solitude, no matter its duration, he never grows lonely or bored.
CRISS JAMI

To be heroic is to be courageous enough to die for something; to be inspirational is to be crazy eno...
CRISS JAMI

Love is as simple as the absence of self given to another. God, when invited, fills the void of any ...
CRISS JAMI

A young outcast will often feel that there is something wrong with himself, but as he gets older, gr...
CRISS JAMI

A pure heart does not demean the spirit of an individual, it, instead, compels the individual to exa...
CRISS JAMI

Confidence is like a dragon where, for every head cut off, two more heads grow back.
CRISS JAMI

Senses of humor define people, as factions, deeper rooted than religious or political opinions. When...
CRISS JAMI

God tests, but he does not tempt.
CRISS JAMI

I don't pretend to know everything; I just only speak on matters I know I'll win.
CRISS JAMI

To ask, 'How do you do it?' is already starting off on the wrong foot. When reaching for the stars, ...
CRISS JAMI

If you build the guts to do something, anything, then you better save enough to face the consequence...
CRISS JAMI

To reach only for that which pleasantly enchants you is the least of imagination, if even imaginatio...
CRISS JAMI

With a hint of good judgment, to fear nothing, not failure or suffering or even death, indicates tha...
CRISS JAMI

Like crying wolf, if you keep looking for sympathy as a justification for your actions, you will som...
CRISS JAMI

The ultimate story of success: When a nobody, who has never once in his entire life known the feelin...
CRISS JAMI

When you have wit of your own, it's a pleasure to credit other people for theirs.
CRISS JAMI

Time and time again does the pride of man influence his very own fall. While denying it, one gradual...
CRISS JAMI

Let's not grow with our roots in the ground.
CRISS JAMI

Good works is giving to the poor and the helpless, but divine works is showing them their worth to t...
CRISS JAMI

An over-indulgence of anything, even something as pure as water, can intoxicate.
CRISS JAMI

An exceedingly confident student would in theory make a terrible student. Why would he take school s...
CRISS JAMI

The exaggerated dopamine sensitivity of the introvert leads one to believe that when in public, intr...
CRISS JAMI

A man who goes into a restaurant and blatantly disrespects the servers shows a strong discontent wit...
CRISS JAMI

It's not at all hard to understand a person; it's only hard to listen without bias.
CRISS JAMI

You are evidence of your mother's strength, especially if you are a rebellious knucklehead and regar...
CRISS JAMI

Doubt is a question mark; faith is an exclamation point. The most compelling, believable, realistic ...
CRISS JAMI

If ever you feel like an animal among men, be a lion.
CRISS JAMI

When I look at a person, I see a person - not a rank, not a class, not a title.
CRISS JAMI

Being nice merely to be liked in return nullifies the point.
CRISS JAMI

Man has 2 common problems with God: the one is that there is evil in the world; the other is that fr...
CRISS JAMI

The creation of man is evidence for the love of God, the preservation of man is evidence for the pat...
CRISS JAMI

One may not always know his purpose until his only option is to monopolize in what he truly excels a...
CRISS JAMI

The only thing more frustrating than slanderers is those foolish enough to listen to them.
CRISS JAMI

Many people in a rather reckless context claim to 'just tell it like it is'. In actuality, nobody re...
CRISS JAMI

Tell me that the purpose of life is to have fun, and without a care in the world I'll begin wreaking...
CRISS JAMI

Everyone judges constantly: positively judging one person is the same as negatively judging everyone...
CRISS JAMI

A fear of weakness only strengthens weakness.
CRISS JAMI

Even if there are instances in which it can be mistook by onlookers, never fool yourself into using ...
CRISS JAMI

In order to share one's true brilliance one initially has to risk looking like a fool: genius is lik...
CRISS JAMI

Oftentimes winning can become an addiction, whether good or bad, to the point where you would rather...
CRISS JAMI

It often seems as though the silent, humble servant is secretly wiser and more discerning than the h...
CRISS JAMI

The petty man wants to use God for himself; the ambitious man wants God to use him for God.
CRISS JAMI

I pity the man who praises God only when things go his way.
CRISS JAMI

The hated man is the result of his hater's pride rather than his hater's conscience.
CRISS JAMI

...There are also those who inadvertently grant power to another man's words by continuously trying ...
CRISS JAMI

Friends ask you questions; enemies question you.
CRISS JAMI

When it comes to world news, attitude is what marks the distinction between justice and vengeance. J...
CRISS JAMI

Never rebel for the sake of rebelling, but always rebel for the sake of truth.
CRISS JAMI

An encouraged person will eventually get his drive from encouragement; he becomes more dependent. A ...
CRISS JAMI

I once began to ask around what constitutes a good poem. It felt petty, in a sense. A boy would need...
CRISS JAMI

Armed neutrality makes it much easier to detect hypocrisy.
CRISS JAMI

The logic behind patriotism is a mystery. At least a man who believes that his own family or clan is...
CRISS JAMI

I am not sure if women are attracted to genius. Can you imagine the wise wizard winning the woman ov...
CRISS JAMI

In the age of technology there is constant access to vast amounts of information. The basket overflo...
CRISS JAMI

If you're not a smart worker, it's about how hard you work double the amount from the heart; if you'...
CRISS JAMI

Seemingly minor yet persistent things penetrate the mind over time making it difficult to ever reali...
CRISS JAMI

The artist is often misunderstood because, stepping outside himself and holding most details in grea...
CRISS JAMI

Cleverness isn't always true nor is the truth always clever.
CRISS JAMI

Everything at some point has been declared the root of all evil.
CRISS JAMI

It's easy to make a mess when you're not the one who has to clean it up.
CRISS JAMI

There's nothing more contagious than the laughter of young children; it doesn't even have to matter ...
CRISS JAMI

Of course, in our train of thought, we would all like to think we're on the right track, or at least...
CRISS JAMI

I imagine that the intelligent people are the ones so intelligent that they don't even need or want ...
CRISS JAMI

We are not as some people like to assume nowadays 'just being real' by embracing passively the sinfu...
CRISS JAMI

When emerging from humble beginnings, those around you tend to underestimate your authenticity becau...
CRISS JAMI

I do not care about happiness simply because I believe that joy is something worth fighting for.
CRISS JAMI

I'm often painted as the bad guy, and the artistic part of me wants to hand out the brush.
CRISS JAMI

Great philosophers become immortal - they make undeniable impacts on culture.
CRISS JAMI

It is the philosophers, theologians, and evangelists who are said to be filled with pride and bigotr...
CRISS JAMI

The theistic philosopher has a tendency to devalue insufficient worldviews, ideologies, and quite of...
CRISS JAMI

The hype cheapens the hyped, as right things are then made wrong by exaggeration.
CRISS JAMI

It's simple, it's not that simple; or life is simple, but the things in it are not. When a man does ...
CRISS JAMI

Some of the simplest of truths are also some of the most difficult of truths, but such is Christiani...
CRISS JAMI

The best of fiction, as we know, of course, doesn't tell the truth; it tales the truth.
CRISS JAMI

When we begin to reflect Christ, the Bible, when more understood as being centered around Christ, se...
CRISS JAMI

Never take advice about never taking advice. That is an old vice of men - to dish it out without bei...
CRISS JAMI

How easy it is for so many of us today to be undoubtedly full of information yet fully deprived of a...
CRISS JAMI

Constantly stopping to explain oneself may expand into a frustrating burden for the rare individual,...
CRISS JAMI

Discernment is the son of good judgment and the father of self-control. When mixed with an already c...
CRISS JAMI

The older you get, the more you understand how your conscience works. The biggest and only critic li...
CRISS JAMI

Everyone pretends to be 'free thinkers', but few individuals pass the line into expressive territori...
CRISS JAMI

At first, they'll only dislike what you say, but the more correct you start sounding the more they'l...
CRISS JAMI

There's sometimes a tugging feeling you get to push further when you aren't being challenged enough ...
CRISS JAMI

The ones who constantly make us laugh are the hardest of friends to know - for comedians are the car...
CRISS JAMI

The real test of love is loving those who we feel are the hardest ones to love.
CRISS JAMI

Love without humility results in the inclination to act as everyone's parent, humility without love ...
CRISS JAMI

It is a harsh reality that some of the most important and respectable jobs which deserve high salari...
CRISS JAMI

If you're waiting until you feel talented enough to make it, you'll never make it.
CRISS JAMI

Love tames the benumbed beast. A man is put to use regarding a woman's physical safety, but a woman ...
CRISS JAMI

Most men either compromise or drop their greatest talents and start running after, what they perceiv...
CRISS JAMI

It is so easy at times for a lonely individual to begin fantasizing about what the people outside ar...
CRISS JAMI

Love may be harder to find in some people, but when they do love you know it must be something marve...
CRISS JAMI

Self-righteousness is much like a spiritual egocentricity. It constitutes a secular type of love tha...
CRISS JAMI

To better understand God we must first shatter our own idea of God - maybe even day after day. Maybe...
CRISS JAMI

With too much pride a man cannot learn a thing. In and of itself, learning teaches you how foolish y...
CRISS JAMI

If love is blind, then maybe a blind person that loves has a greater understanding of it.
CRISS JAMI

To esteem what makes you holy over what makes you happy - that is the greatest dare.
CRISS JAMI

One of the biggest contradictions in self-proclaimed open-mindedness is to say that we're all one bu...
CRISS JAMI

Today's zealots are mostly those pretending to be anti-religious.
CRISS JAMI

I will never deny that life isn't fair. It seems as though when a woman leaves a man she is strong a...
CRISS JAMI

The internet is where some people go to show their true intelligence; others, their hidden stupidity...
CRISS JAMI

Jealousy from a love affair is something even God can admit.
CRISS JAMI

Every job from the heart is, ultimately, of equal value. The nurse injects the syringe; the writer s...
CRISS JAMI

Intelligence entails a strong mind, but genius entails a heart of a lion in tune with a strong mind.
CRISS JAMI

To me it seems that too many young women of this time share the same creed. 'Live, laugh, love, be n...
CRISS JAMI

You have to lift a person up before you can really put them in their place.
CRISS JAMI

Have nuts and be nuts.
CRISS JAMI

Confidence turns into pride only when you are in denial of your mistakes.
CRISS JAMI

To be truly positive in the eyes of some, you have to risk appearing negative in the eyes of others.
CRISS JAMI

If you have to say or do something controversial, aim so that people will hate that they love it and...
CRISS JAMI

The problem is politics is made a sport, almost as much a sport as football or baseball. When it com...
CRISS JAMI

As followers of Christ, we are to be careful not to remain victims of the many cultural presuppositi...
CRISS JAMI

My belief is that, morally, God and Satan are vaguely on the same page. According to the common unde...
CRISS JAMI

Unprovoked hostility is often but displaced self-defense: 'I must stop him before he stops me.' In many of such environments, nobody is really hateful so much as they are just fearful.

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Criss Jami

Unprovoked hostility is often but displaced self-defense: 'I must stop him before he stops me.' In many of such environments, nobody is really hateful so much as they are just fearful.

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