Quotes from Rick Warren

here is the good news, the truth that will set you free: You don't need their approval to be happy! So let it go! Stop wasting emotional energy on something that is never going to happen and something that isn't necessary for you to be happy. They are miserable, but you don't have to be. There is no sane reason for both of you to be miserable!

This is the paradox: victory comes through surrender. Surrender doesn't weaken you; it strengthens you. Surrendered to God, you don't have to fear or surrender to anything else.

You cannot make God stop loving you, because his love is based on who he is, not what you do. It is based on his character, not your conduct.

You only believe the part of the Bible you do.

The only group large enough to handle, the world's biggest, problems is the network of millions of local churches around the world. We have the widest distribution, largest group of volunteers, local credibility, the promises of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the inevitability of history.

Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. When you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant. It proves your worth. If you are that important to God, and he considers you valuable enough to keep with him for eternity, what greater significance could you have?

The most difficult area to surrender for many people is their money. Many have thought, "I want to live for God but I also want to earn enough money to live comfortably and retire someday." Retirement is not the goal of a surrendered life, because it competes with God for the primary attention of our lives. Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money"14 and "Wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also.

Failure is a part of everyone's journey. But it is your attitude toward failure that will determine your ultimate success.

God warns us to not get too attached to what's around us because it is temporary. We're told, "Those in frequent contact with the things of the world should make good use of them without becoming attached to them, for this world and all it contains will pass away."9

In contrast, the Bible says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."15 Patience comes from wisdom, and wisdom comes from hearing the perspective of others. Listening says, "I value your opinion, I care about our relationship, and you matter to me." The cliché is true: People don't care what we know until they know we care.

When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything; without it, nothing is bearable.

While life on earth offers many choices, eternity offers only two: heaven or hell. Your relationship to God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity. If you learn to love and trust God's Son, Jesus, you will be invited to spend the rest of eternity with him. On the other hand, if you reject his love, forgiveness, and salvation, you will spend eternity apart from God forever.

When you fully comprehend that there is more to life than just here and now, and you realize that life is just preparation for eternity, you will begin to live differently. You will start living in light of eternity, and that will color how you handle every relationship, task, and circumstance. Suddenly many activities, goals, and even problems that seemed so important will appear trivial, petty, and unworthy of your attention. The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.

Can I trust God? Trust is an essential ingredient to surrender. You won't surrender to God unless you trust him, but you can't trust him until you know him better. Fear keeps us from surrendering, but love casts out all fear. The more you realize how much God loves you, the easier surrender becomes.

You must make a counter-culture decision to focus on becoming more like Jesus. Otherwise, other forces like peers, parents, coworkers, and culture will try to mold you into their image.

Surrendered people obey God's word, even if it doesn't make sense.

Nunca sabrás que Dios es todo lo que necesitas hasta que él sea todo lo que tengas.

Imagine how much needless frustration could be avoided if we learned from each other's life lessons. Mature people develop the habit of extracting lessons from everyday experiences.

Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.

Courtesy is respecting our differences, being considerate of each other's feelings, and being patient with people who irritate us.

Without God life makes no sense.

The first thing on Dr. Amen's master to-do list, the first thing he sees each day, is his gratitude list. Rather than just writing down a few things, he keeps a running tab on what he is grateful for, looks at it every day, and adds to it as joyful moments occur.

by God and for God—and until you understand

Fear is a self-imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God intends for you to be.