Faith & Spirit Quote by King Solomon

Kindness isn’t framed here as a social nicety; it’s self-preservation. Attributed to King Solomon, the line carries the unmistakable stamp of a ruler who understands that power always tempts you to treat other people as props. The genius of the phrasing is its reversal of the usual moral math: be kind because it benefits your soul, not because it wins applause or keeps the peace. Cruelty, in this logic, isn’t just sin against others; it’s corrosive damage to the self.

The subtext is political. A king’s cruelty can be “efficient” in the short term, even celebrated as strength, but Solomon’s warning is that the cost is internal and cumulative. “Nourished” suggests a slow, daily practice, like tending a living thing. “Destroyed” is blunt and final, the language of collapse. That asymmetry is the point: cruelty doesn’t merely weaken you; it hollows you out until the person with authority becomes unfit to wield it.

Placed in the biblical tradition associated with Solomon’s wisdom literature, the quote reads like governance advice smuggled into spiritual counsel. Wisdom isn’t cleverness; it’s character under pressure. The line also sidesteps sentimentalism. It doesn’t promise that kindness will be rewarded by others. It argues something harder: even if no one thanks you, kindness keeps you intact. Cruelty may look like control, but it’s actually surrender to the part of yourself that can’t be trusted.