The following quotations are from Brant Hansen (author of “Unoffendable”, “The Truth About Us”, “The Men We Need”, “Blessed Are The Misfits,” etc.)

“There’s a story of a law doyen asking Jesus what he needs to do to inherit eternal life? Jesus responds with a question, “What is written in the law?” The cognoscente quotes Scripture, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus tells him he’s right on! But watch the move the demure doyen makes immediately after… in an effort to justify himself, he asks Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Suddenly “the big expert” has no idea what ‘neighbor’ means. He’d rather keep this whole thing academic. Jesus says, “Love your enemies.” Religious specialists say, “Let’s maybe study this first.” Jesus says, “If you don’t forgive, you won’t be forgiven.” Religious experts, “Well, he doesn’t mean it quite like that, there’s a lot of nuance there.” Jesus says, “No. I meant it.” Professional theological pundits says, “Let’s study it.” Jesus says, “No! I just want you to do it!” Religious expert, “What does ‘DO’ mean really? …in Aramaic?” Jesus says, “What in the world!”

“If you want instant validation, and a sense of superficial, evanescent, “connection”… just echo (retweet) someone’s anger.”

“Reality is what you run into when you’re wrong.” (quoting Dallas Willard)

” ‘I love you’ oftentimes means, ‘I love myself’ (i.e. ‘I love the feeling you give me.’).”

“ ‘Love’ that offers immediate and indiscriminate support is not love. To say, ‘I love you so much… of course I cheer on your drug addiction.’ Or ‘I love you so much… of course I endorse your decision to neglect your children.’ Or, ‘I love you so much… I celebrate your resolve to wallow in victimhood.’ This is madness!”

“Try this trick whenever covetousness and envy are crouching at your door… That family’s $1.8 million dollar home is awesome! AND I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE IT! That guy’s self-driving car is amazing! AND I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE IT! That t-shirt at Rock Hill Coffee Roasters is so soft and stylish. AND I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE IT! That doughnut is so sweet and scrumptious. AND I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE IT!”

“Quit trying to parent the whole world. Quit offering advice when exactly zero people asked for it. Quit being shocked when people don’t share your morality. Quit serving as judge and jury, in your own mind, of that person who just cut you off in traffic. Quit thinking you need to “discern” what others’ motives are. And quit rehearsing in your mind what that other person did to you.”

“Few want to hear this, but it’s true, and it can be enormously helpful in life: if you’re constantly being hurt, offended, or angered, you should honestly evaluate your inflamed ego.”

“Whenever there’s an injury to a relationship, a hurt, a broken heart, or even a broken thing, and you are willing to forgive, you are saying, “I got this. I’m going to pick up the bill for this.” This is, of course, precisely what God has done for us.” …And sometimes people will completely reject your forgiveness, because they do not believe that they need to be forgiven. For example, look up Malachi 1:6… and then read all of Malachi, and notice how many times people reject God’s merciful and loving confrontation, and subsequently they comprehensively deny their need for forgiveness. It’s nice when people offer to pick up the bill, but if I insist that I owe $0.00, then your offer to PAY is meaningless! (italics = Tyler)

“It’s true, though, others won’t understand me. I know that. I’m still an alien in the American Christian subculture. Each evening I retreat from it, and I go straight to the Gospels. It’s not out of duty that I read about Jesus; it’s a respite.”

“One of the hardest-to-swallow, most countercultural, counter intuitive implications of the gospel is that bearing up under a difficult burden with patient perseverance is a good thing.” And please bear in mind that pandering to the petulance of patriarchs and matriarchs is NOT the same thing as patient perseverance. For instance, David patiently persevered in the face of the petulant patriarch Saul. David did not pander to Saul. David confronted Saul, and shrewdly shamed Saul for being puerile and asinine.