---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I could today become king or emperor…"
description: "\"If I could today become king or emperor, I would not give up my office as preacher.\" — Martin Luther"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/martin-luther-106_emperor_if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor_1676352.jpg"
---

#  If I could today become king or emperor, I would not give…

![“If I could today become king or emperor, I would not give up my office as preacher.” quote by Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/martin-luther-106_emperor_if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor_1676352.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/martin-luther-106_emperor_if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor_1676352.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/martin-luther-106_emperor_if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor_1676352.jpg)

> “If I could today become king or emperor, I would not give up my office as preacher.”

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Power is meaningless without spiritual purpose.

**In simple terms:** Power without faith is empty.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize spiritual duties over worldly titles.

Themes

faith leadership humility

Mood

inspirational serious

Type

ethical spiritual

When to use this quote

- religious preaching
- political ambition
- personal integrity

Key Concepts

theology ethics political power

Questions to Reflect On

- Would you sacrifice prestige for conviction?
- How does humility shape leadership?

A Different Perspective

Even religious leaders may be tempted by power.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Emperor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Not giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-giving-up/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Preacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preacher/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/)

## Related quotes

> [Are you a King? Are you an Emperor? Can you stop the days passing by? If you cannot, you are nothing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/are-you-a-king-are-you-an-emperor-can-you-stop-the-days-passing-by-if/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [Today is a king in disguise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/today-is-a-king-in-disguise/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [Heaven and earth, all the emperors, kings, and princes of the world, could not raise a fit dwelling-place for God; yet, in a weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/heaven-and-earth-all-the-emperors-kings-and-princes-of-the-world/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [ In short, I will preach it \[the Word\], teach it, write it, but I will constrain no man by force, for faith must come… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/in-short-i-will-preach-it-the-word-teach-it-write-it-but-i-will/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [Anyone who can be proved to be a seditious person is an outlaw before God and the emperor; and whoever is the first to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/anyone-who-can-be-proved-to-be-a-seditious-person-is-an-outlaw-before/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [Work hard. Don’t quit. Be appreciative, be thankful, be grateful, be respectful. Also, never whine, never complain. And always, for crying out loud, keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/work-hard-don-t-quit-be-appreciative-be-thankful-be-grateful-be/)

[Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/)

> [Go at life every day with passion and enthusiasm... and when challenges arrive, simply do not give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/go-at-life-every-day-with-passion-and-enthusiasm-and-when-challenges/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [On one hand, we know that everything happens for a reason, and there are no mistakes or coincidences. On the other hand, we learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/on-one-hand-we-know-that-everything-happens-for-a-reason-and-there/)

[Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/)

> [If your plan isn't working, adjust your plan. Never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-martin/if-your-plan-isn-t-working-adjust-your-plan-never-give-up/)

Matt Martin

> [Not to give up under any circumstances should be the motto of our life: I shall try again and again, and I am bound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-chinmoy/not-to-give-up-under-any-circumstances-should-be-the-motto-of-our/)

[Sri Chinmoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-chinmoy/)

> [I just want to get my voice heard again and to allow people to know me outside of a group situation. I also want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letoya-luckett/i-just-want-to-get-my-voice-heard-again-and-to-allow-people-to-know/)

[LeToya Luckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letoya-luckett/)

> [I'm not giving up on life. I'm giving up on today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/i-m-not-giving-up-on-life-i-m-giving-up-on-today/)

[Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/)

> [Business is always a struggle. There are always obstacles and competitors. There is never an open road, except the wide road that leads to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kirubi/business-is-always-a-struggle-there-are-always-obstacles-and/)

Chris Kirubi

> [I think the most important thing is to stay hopeful, to believe wonderful things are possible and do your best. Basically, to not give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irena-a-hoffman/i-think-the-most-important-thing-is-to-stay-hopeful-to-believe/)

[Irena A. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irena-a-hoffman/)

> [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

## More by Martin Luther

> [“It was easy for you to say these things, since you either knew you were not writing to Luther, but for the general public,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-was-easy-for-you-to-say-these-things-since-you-either-knew-you/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [In a delightful garden, sowing, planting or digging are not hardship but are done with a zeal and a certain pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/in-a-delightful-garden-sowing-planting-or-digging-are-not-hardship/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [If you could understand a single grain of wheat you would die of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/if-you-could-understand-a-single-grain-of-wheat-you-would-die-of/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [“God made man out of nothing, and as long as we are nothing, He can make something out of us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/god-made-man-out-of-nothing-and-as-long-as-we-are-nothing-he-can-make/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [“But the truth will win out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/but-the-truth-will-win-out/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [God wants us to pray, and he wants to hear our prayers-not because we are worthy, but because he is merciful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/god-wants-us-to-pray-and-he-wants-to-hear-our-prayers-not-because-we/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [Our office...subjects us to great burdens and labors, dangers and temptations, with little reward or gratitude from the world. But Christ himself will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-office-subjects-us-to-great-burdens-and-labors-dangers-and/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [“Our faith in Christ does not free us from works but from false opinions concerning works, that is, from the foolish presumption that justification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-faith-in-christ-does-not-free-us-from-works-but-from-false/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [The works of the righteous would be mortal sins if they would not be feared as mortal sins by the righteous themselves out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-works-of-the-righteous-would-be-mortal-sins-if-they-would-not-be/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [“For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Romans 3:28”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/for-we-maintain-that-a-man-is-justified-by-faith-apart-from-observing/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [There are only two days on my calendar... today and the day of judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/there-are-only-two-days-on-my-calendar-today-and-the-day-of-judgment/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [ Antichrist is the pope and the Turk \[Muslim\] together. A beast full of life must have a body and soul. The spirit or soul… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/antichrist-is-the-pope-and-the-turk-muslim-together-a-beast-full-of/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

> [It is not the imitation that makes sons; it is sonship that makes imitators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/it-is-not-the-imitation-that-makes-sons-it-is-sonship-that-makes/)

[Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

[Explore all 1,292 Martin Luther quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/)

## More Emperor quotes

> [In a certain reign there was a lady not of the first rank whom the emperor loved more than any of the others. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murasaki-shikibu/in-a-certain-reign-there-was-a-lady-not-of-the-first-rank-whom-the/)

[Murasaki Shikibu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murasaki-shikibu/)

> [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [“They are the Emperor's spies, his eyes and ears. And occasionally his assassins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-moeller/they-are-the-emperor-s-spies-his-eyes-and-ears-and-occasionally-his/)

[Jonathan Moeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-moeller/)

> [Emperor Sid Caesar is gone to eternity himself now. He takes with him the gratitude of every one of us who first learned the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-stein/emperor-sid-caesar-is-gone-to-eternity-himself-now-he-takes-with-him/)

[Ben Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-stein/)

> [Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-are-the-treasured-wealth-of-the-world-and-the-fit-inheritance/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [“Better a king in the gutter,' he said, 'than a slave in an emperor's place”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/better-a-king-in-the-gutter-he-said-than-a-slave-in-an-emperor-s-place/)

[Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/)

> [Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird! No hungry generations tread thee down; The voice I hear this passing night was heard In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/thou-wast-not-born-for-death-immortal-bird-no-hungry-generations/)

[John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/)

> [There was living in the palace at this time a brother of the great Germanicus, and consequently an uncle of the late emperor, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-was-living-in-the-palace-at-this-time-a-brother-of-the-great/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“An emperor walks with his court through many fields of roses until they come to a barren spot. There he sees one rose. "It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-flinn/an-emperor-walks-with-his-court-through-many-fields-of-roses-until/)

[Kathleen Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-flinn/)

> [When the king asked him what he meant by infesting the sea, the pirate defiantly replied: The same as you do when you infest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/when-the-king-asked-him-what-he-meant-by-infesting-the-sea-the-pirate/)

[Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/)

> [“That valiant Macedonian supreme commander and emperor Alexander, in his thirties and the future Indian captain-general and emperor Chandragupta just on the threshold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savarkar/that-valiant-macedonian-supreme-commander-and-emperor-alexander-in/)

Savarkar

> [I feel like an emperor only when I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/balachandra-menon/i-feel-like-an-emperor-only-when-i-m-writing/)

[Balachandra Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/balachandra-menon/)

> [ It becomes an emperor to die standing (i.e., "in harness"). \[Lat., Decet imperatorem statem mori.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vespasian/it-becomes-an-emperor-to-die-standing-i-e-in-harness-lat-decet/)

[Vespasian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vespasian/)

> [They do not depend upon mere legends and myths. They are not predicated on the false conception that the Emperor is divine and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-do-not-depend-upon-mere-legends-and-myths-they-are-not/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [News flash, lady. There are no queens anymore,” Shane said. He loaded shells in a shotgun and snapped it shut, then searched for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/news-flash-lady-there-are-no-queens-anymore-shane-said-he-loaded/)

[Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/)

[Browse all 434 Emperor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emperor/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If I could today become king or emperor, I would not give up my office as preacher.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Martin Luther"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor-i-would-not-give-up-my-office/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Emperor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor-i-would-not-give-up-my-office/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/martin-luther-106_emperor_if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor_1676352.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/martin-luther-106_emperor_if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor_1676352.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/martin-luther-106_emperor_if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor_1676352.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If I could today become king or emperor, I would not give up my office as preacher.” — Martin Luther",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Martin Luther",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If I could today become king...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor-i-would-not-give-up-my-office/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/if-i-could-today-become-king-or-emperor-i-would-not-give-up-my-office/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
