Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes About Giving

• We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Education, Character, Giving

  Martin Luther King (1992). “The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr”, p.124, Univ of California Press

• I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it falls victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Block, Fall, Class

• Science investigates religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power religion gives man wisdom which is control.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Wise, Science, Men

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.23, Beacon Press

• As a young man with most of my life ahead of me, I decided early to give my life to something eternal and absolute. Not to these little gods that are here today and gone tomorrow. But to God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Men, Yesterday, Giving

  "Rediscovering Lost Values". Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Sermon at Detroit's Second Baptist Church, kinginstitute.stanford.edu. February 28, 1954.

• There are some things concerning which we must always be maladjusted if we are to be people of good will. We must never adjust ourselves to racial segregation. We must never adjust ourselves to religious bigotry. We must never adjust ourselves to economic conditions that take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Religious, Luxury, People

• He who is greatest among you shall be a servant. That's the new definition of greatness. ... By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Mean, Greatness, Giving

  "Day of service honors Martin Luther King Jr". www.cnn.com. January 18, 2011.

• I choose to identify with the underprivileged, I choose to give my life for the hungry, I choose to give my life for those who have been left out of the sunlight of opportunity . . . this is the way I'm going. If it means suffering, I'm going that way. If it means dying for them, I'm going that way, because I heard a voice saying DO SOMETHING FOR OTHERS.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Mean, Opportunity, Voice

  Martin Luther King (Jr.), Alex Ayres (1993). “The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr”, Plume

• Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Country, Spring, Men

  "The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings".

• This will be the day when we shall bring into full realization the dream of American democracy - a dream yet unfulfilled. A dream of equality of opportunity, of privilege and property widely distributed; a dream of a land where men will not take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Dream, Respect, Opportunity

  Martin Luther King (Jr.), Michael K. Honey (2011). “All Labor Has Dignity”, p.57, Beacon Press

• O America, how you've taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Taken, Class, Luxury

• History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Giving Up, Long

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.89, Beacon Press

• Science investigates, religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power, religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts, religion deals with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Fall, Men, Two

  "Strength to Love". Book by Martin Luther King, Jr. Ch. 1 : A tough mind and a tender heart, 1963.

• We have moved into an era where we are called upon to raise certain basic questions about the whole society. We are still called upon to give aid to the beggar who finds himself in misery and agony on life's highway. But one day, we must ask the question of whether an edifice which produces beggars must not be restructured and refurbished.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Agony, Giving, Society

• We have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. Our minimal expectation is to occupy it as an American colony and maintain social stability for our investments. This tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Colombia and Peru. Increasingly the role our nation has taken is the role of those who refuse to give up the privileges and pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investment.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Giving Up, Taken, America

• The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage they did not know they had.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Respect, Determination, Heart

  Martin Luther King (Jr.) (1968). “I Have a Dream: The Quotations of Martin Luther King, Jr”

• Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. [...] Every now and then I ask myself, 'What is it that I would want said?' I'd like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day, that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Kings, Thinking, Giving

  "The Drum Major Instinct". Sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, February 4, 1968.

• There is such a thing as the freedom of exhaustion. Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up. [...] The oppressed must never allow the conscience of the oppressor to slumber. [...] To accept injustice or segregation passively is to say to the oppressor that his actions are morally right.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Giving Up, People, Black History

  "Three Ways of Meeting Oppression". Essay by Martin Luther King, Jr., taken from MLK's book "Stride Toward Freedom", 1958.

• Pity may represent little more than the impersonal concern which prompts the mailing of a check, but true sympathy is the personal concern which demands the giving of one's soul.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Sympathy, True Friend, Giving

  Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

• We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate. The broad education will, therefore, transmit to one not only the accumulated knowledge of the race but also the accumulated experience of social living. If we are not careful, our colleges will produce a group of close-minded, unscientific, illogical propagandists, consumed with immoral acts. Be careful, brethren! Be careful, teachers!

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Teacher, Character, College

  Martin Luther King (1992). “The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr”, p.124, Univ of California Press

• Set yourself earnestly to discover what you are made to do, and then give yourself passionately to the doing of it.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Christian, Ambition, Giving

  Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

• Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Giving Up, Light

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011). “Why We Can't Wait”, p.59, Beacon Press

• Some people are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Giving Up, People

  Martin Luther King (Jr.), Alex Ayres (1993). “The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr”, Plume

• The decision we must make now is whether we will give our allegiance to outmoded and unjust customs or to the ethical demands of the universe. As Christians we owe our allegiance to God and His will, rather than to man and his folkways

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspiring, Christian, Men

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2010). “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story”, p.128, Beacon Press

• This Revolution is genuine because it was born from the same womb that always gives birth to massive social upheavals - the womb of intolerable conditions and unendurable situations.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Giving, Upheaval, Revolution

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2011). “Why We Can't Wait”, p.98, Beacon Press

• Faith can give us courage to face the uncertainties of the future.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Giving, Faces, Uncertainty

  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2013). “The Essential Martin Luther King, Jr.: "I Have a Dream" and Other Great Writings”, p.117, Beacon Press

You May Also Like:

Malcolm X

Mahatma Gandhi

Nelson Mandela

Rosa Parks

Martin Luther King III

Coretta Scott King

Martin Luther