--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To be as good as our fathers we must be…" description: "\"To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship.\" — Wendell Phillips" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/wendell-phillips-3986_father_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_507717.png" --- # To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation… ![“To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship.” quote by Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/wendell-phillips-3986_father_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_507717.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/wendell-phillips-3986_father_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_507717.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/wendell-phillips-3986_father_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_507717.png) > “To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship.” [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. To surpass our fathers, we must innovate rather than merely imitate; true discipleship involves creating something better, not copying. **In simple terms:** Be better than previous generations by innovating, not copying. Key Takeaway Innovate beyond imitation. Themes progress innovation legacy mentorship Mood motivational thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - leadership - creative projects Key Concepts originality growth learning Questions to Reflect On - How can you move beyond imitation in your work? - What does true discipleship look like today? A Different Perspective Imitation can be a safe but limiting path. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fathers/) [Good Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-fathers/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [To be as good as our fathers, we must be better. Imitation is not discipleship. 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I listen to the gentle hum of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-m-orgeron/for-a-moment-i-stand-in-the-doorway-watching-the-steady-rise-and-fall/) [Heather M. Orgeron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-m-orgeron/) > [Happy fathers day to all the good fathers, potential fathers, fathers working to become better fathers, fathers in heaven and THE Father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/happy-fathers-day-to-all-the-good-fathers-potential-fathers-fathers/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to congratulate all the men out there who are working diligently to be good fathers whether they are stepfathers, or biological fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-d-jakes/i-want-to-congratulate-all-the-men-out-there-who-are-working/) [T. D. Jakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-d-jakes/) > [The longer I live, Dorian, the more keenly I feel that whatever was good enough for our fathers is not good enough for us.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-longer-i-live-dorian-the-more-keenly-i-feel-that-whatever-was/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The curse of fatherhood is distance, and the good fathers spend their lives trying to overcome it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-farrar/the-curse-of-fatherhood-is-distance-and-the-good-fathers-spend-their/) [Steve Farrar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-farrar/) > [I have always said that a studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-always-said-that-a-studious-perusal-of-the-sacred-volume-will/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We learn from our fathers so that we can be better than them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arron-retsehcnam/we-learn-from-our-fathers-so-that-we-can-be-better-than-them/) Arron Retsehcnam > [It is not that fathers are better or worse, not that they are more loved or criticized, but rather that they are viewed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/it-is-not-that-fathers-are-better-or-worse-not-that-they-are-more/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [“Although a million black men can be found in prisons and jails, public acknowledgment of the role of the criminal justice system in "disappearing"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/although-a-million-black-men-can-be-found-in-prisons-and-jails-public/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Leniency and mercy. Men set free despite crimes, because they were good fathers, or well liked in the community, or in the favor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/leniency-and-mercy-men-set-free-despite-crimes-because-they-were-good/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) ## More by Wendell Phillips > [Right is the eternal sun; the world cannot delay its coming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/right-is-the-eternal-sun-the-world-cannot-delay-its-coming/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The best education in the world is that got by struggling to get a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-best-education-in-the-world-is-that-got-by-struggling-to-get-a/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/eternal-vigilance-is-the-price-of-liberty-power-is-ever-stealing-from/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The Puritan's idea of hell is a place where everybody has to mind his own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-puritan-s-idea-of-hell-is-a-place-where-everybody-has-to-mind-his/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The paleontological evidence before us today clearly demonstrates ordered progressive change with the successive development of new faunal and floral assemblages through the changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-paleontological-evidence-before-us-today-clearly-demonstrates/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The press is the exclusive literature of the million; to them it is literature, church, and college.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-press-is-the-exclusive-literature-of-the-million-to-them-it-is/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Every government is always growing corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/every-government-is-always-growing-corrupt/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Neither do I acknowledge the right of Plymouth to the whole rock. No, the rock underlies all America: it only crops out here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/neither-do-i-acknowledge-the-right-of-plymouth-to-the-whole-rock-no/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [The heart beats louder and the soul hears quicker in silence and solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-heart-beats-louder-and-the-soul-hears-quicker-in-silence-and/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Freedom to preach was first gained, dragging in its train freedom to print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/freedom-to-preach-was-first-gained-dragging-in-its-train-freedom-to/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Politicians are like the bones of a horse's foreshoulder-not a straight one in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/politicians-are-like-the-bones-of-a-horse-s-foreshoulder-not-a/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Wants awaken intellect. To gratify them disciplines intellect. The keener the want the lustier the growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/wants-awaken-intellect-to-gratify-them-disciplines-intellect-the/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Popular opinion is oftenest, what Carlyle pronounced it to be, a lie!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/popular-opinion-is-oftenest-what-carlyle-pronounced-it-to-be-a-lie/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Great political questions stir the deepest nature of one-half the nation, but they pass far above and over the heads of the other half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/great-political-questions-stir-the-deepest-nature-of-one-half-the/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [Organize, and stand together. Claim something together, and at once; let the nation hear a united demand from the laboring voice, and then, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/organize-and-stand-together-claim-something-together-and-at-once-let/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) [Explore all 117 Wendell Phillips quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. 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At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Phillips" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be-better-imitation-is-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be-better-imitation-is-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/wendell-phillips-3986_father_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_507717.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/wendell-phillips-3986_father_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_507717.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0d/wendell-phillips-3986_father_to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be_507717.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To be as good as our fathers we must be better, imitation is not discipleship.” — Wendell Phillips", "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": "Wendell Phillips", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To be as good as our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be-better-imitation-is-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/to-be-as-good-as-our-fathers-we-must-be-better-imitation-is-not/#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 } } ] } ```