As water cannot rise higher than its source, so the moral quality in an act can never be higher than the motive that inspires it. For this reason no act that arises from an evil motive can be good, even though some good may appear to come out of it. Every deed done out of anger or spite, for instance, will be found at last to have been done for the enemy and against the kingdom of God. A.W. Tozer
About This Quote

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is a good principle to live by. The fact that this principle means that you should look inside yourself and check yourself before judging others is what makes it so powerful. The idea that "As water cannot rise higher than its source" is the origin of this quote. No act done by an angry person can be true to his or her true character.

To act in anger is to act against the grain of the true person. This is why this quote is so powerful; it shows us how doing wrong to another person can make us worse off in the end.

Source: The Root Of The Righteous

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More Quotes By A.W. Tozer
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  2. Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now.
  3. Philosophy and science have not always been friendly toward the idea of God, the reason being they are dedicated to the task of accounting for things and are impatient with anything that refuses to give an account of itself. The philosopher and the scientist will...
  4. What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
  5. I can safely say, on the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God, that any man or woman on this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven.
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