Stop what you’re doing and read the incredible quote on the wall of this Alabama BBQ joint

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July 8, 2015

Pruett's BBQ, Gadsden, Ala. (Photo: Yelp) — Pruett’s BBQ, Gadsden, Ala. (Photo: Yelp)

Pruett’s Bar-B-Q is a well-known landmark on Rainbow Drive in Gadsden, Alabama. They’ve been serving up some of the finest barbecue in the state since 1976, which is really saying something in the barbecue-crazed Yellowhammer State.

But in addition to their good eats, Pruett’s is also serving up timeless wisdom.

On Wednesday night, State Sen. Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City) tweeted out a picture of a plaque that has been hanging on the wall of Pruett’s for years, but perhaps has not gotten the attention it deserves.

I found this small but powerful plaque on the wall tonight at one of my favorite BBQ spots…wow! #GOP #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/EF4LztRIYe

— Sen. Phil Williams (@SenPhilWilliams) July 9, 2015

The simple plaque includes a quote from Adrian Rogers, a world-renowned pastor from Memphis, Tennessee.

You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the end of any nation.

Rogers wrote eighteen books and was featured on Love Worth Finding, a radio and television broadcast aired around the world and translated into multiple languages.

He advocated for Christians to get more involved in politics and urged pastors to lead their congregations to “prayerfully and correctly use the standard of God’s Word to select the right candidate” in each election.

He passed away in 2005 from complications of colon cancer, but his profound words of wisdom continue to live on today, including on the wall of a legendary barbecue joint in northeast Alabama.