--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only way your powers can become great…" description: "\"The only way your powers can become great is by exerting them outside the circle of your own narrow, special, selfish interests. And that is the reason..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/woodrow-wilson-534_brother_the-only-way-your-powers-can-become-grea_3232985.png" --- # The only way your powers can become great is by exerting… ![“The only way your powers can become great is by exerting them outside the circle of your own narrow, special, selfish interests. And that is the reason of Christianity. Christ came into the world to save others, not to save himself; and no man is a true Christian who does not think constantly of…” quote by Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/woodrow-wilson-534_brother_the-only-way-your-powers-can-become-grea_3232985.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/woodrow-wilson-534_brother_the-only-way-your-powers-can-become-grea_3232985.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/woodrow-wilson-534_brother_the-only-way-your-powers-can-become-grea_3232985.png) > “The only way your powers can become great is by exerting them outside the circle of your own narrow, special, selfish interests. And that is the reason of Christianity. Christ came into the world to save others, not to save himself; and no man is a true Christian who does not think constantly of how he can lift his brother, how he can assist his friend, how he can enlighten mankind, how he can make virtue the rule of conduct in the circle in which he lives.” [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great power is achieved by serving beyond self‑interest, exemplified by Christian selflessness. **In simple terms:** Power grows when you help others. Key Takeaway Serve beyond yourself. Themes service selflessness power Christianity Mood inspirational reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - volunteering - mentoring - social work - activism - faith groups Key Concepts Altruism virtue community leadership Questions to Reflect On - How can you extend help beyond your immediate circle? - What personal sacrifices are needed to serve others? A Different Perspective Self‑interest can limit impact if not balanced with personal well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christ/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christian Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian-does-2055993/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Christianity Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity-christ-1129756/) [Circles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/circles/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Enlightening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightening/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Lifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifts/) [Mankind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mankind/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Reason Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-christianity-6123671/) [Selfish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish/) [Selfish interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-interest/) [Special](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/special/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [True Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-christian/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“A true Christian does not judge whether a person is worthy of help, but only judges a need and how to best meet that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-sorenson/a-true-christian-does-not-judge-whether-a-person-is-worthy-of-help/) [Toni Sorenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-sorenson/) > [The essence of Christianity is centered upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The sum and substance of being a Christian is trusting Christ with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-j-lawson/the-essence-of-christianity-is-centered-upon-the-lord-jesus-christ/) [Steven J Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-j-lawson/) > [Christianity is Christ plus nothing!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/christianity-is-christ-plus-nothing/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [The question is not if the candidate's heart is favorable to Christianity, but if he has Christ as his starting point even for politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/the-question-is-not-if-the-candidate-s-heart-is-favorable-to/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [“The profundity of Christianity is that Christ is both our redeemer and our judge, not that one is our redeemer and another is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/the-profundity-of-christianity-is-that-christ-is-both-our-redeemer/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [Christianity, Christ, heaven, hell, the judgment, sin, holiness, God,--these, and whether they be true, or false, and our personal relations to them, whether they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herrick-johnson/christianity-christ-heaven-hell-the-judgment-sin-holiness-god-these/) [Herrick Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herrick-johnson/) > [Christianity is Christ!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/christianity-is-christ/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) > [A recovery of the old sense of sin is essential to Christianity. Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/a-recovery-of-the-old-sense-of-sin-is-essential-to-christianity/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Christianity is Christ because there isn't anything else. There is no atonement that somehow can be detached from who the Lord Jesus is. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-b-ferguson/christianity-is-christ-because-there-isn-t-anything-else-there-is-no/) [Sinclair B. Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-b-ferguson/) > [Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/christianity-without-discipleship-is-always-christianity-without/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [What one Christian does is his own responsibility, what one Jew does is thrown back at all Jews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/what-one-christian-does-is-his-own-responsibility-what-one-jew-does/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [“It's important to understand that if someone calls themselves a Christian, it does not automatically make everything they do an act of Christianity, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-n-roe/it-s-important-to-understand-that-if-someone-calls-themselves-a/) [Lewis N. Roe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-n-roe/) > [The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-christian-does-not-think-god-will-love-us-because-we-are-good-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nobody can call himself a Christian who does not worship Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/nobody-can-call-himself-a-christian-who-does-not-worship-jesus/) [John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/) > [There is nothing colder than a Christian who does not seek to save others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-john-chrysostom/there-is-nothing-colder-than-a-christian-who-does-not-seek-to-save/) [Saint John Chrysostom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-john-chrysostom/) ## More by Woodrow Wilson > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-fifteen/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [There is here a great melting pot in which we must compound a precious metal. That metal is the metal of nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/there-is-here-a-great-melting-pot-in-which-we-must-compound-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [One cannot pay the price of self-respect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/one-cannot-pay-the-price-of-self-respect/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I would rather lose in a cause that will some day win, than win in a cause that will some day lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-would-rather-lose-in-a-cause-that-will-some-day-win-than-win-in-a/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I have received delegations of working men who, apparently speaking with the utmost sincerity, have declared that they would regard it as a genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/i-have-received-delegations-of-working-men-who-apparently-speaking/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Absolute identity with one's cause is the first and great condition of successful leadership.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/absolute-identity-with-one-s-cause-is-the-first-and-great-condition/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [America cannot be an ostrich with its head in the sand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/america-cannot-be-an-ostrich-with-its-head-in-the-sand/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [...We are intensely proud of their noble record and are glad to have had the whole world see how irresistible they are in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/we-are-intensely-proud-of-their-noble-record-and-are-glad-to-have-had/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [ The facts of the case will always have the better of \[an\] argument. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-facts-of-the-case-will-always-have-the-better-of-an-argument/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The greatest embarrassment of my political career has been that active duties seem to deprive me of time for careful investigation. I seem almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-greatest-embarrassment-of-my-political-career-has-been-that/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Some Americans need hyphens in their names because only part of them has come over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/some-americans-need-hyphens-in-their-names-because-only-part-of-them/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [The history of liberty is the history of limitations on the power of government, not the increase of it. When we resist, therefore, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/the-history-of-liberty-is-the-history-of-limitations-on-the-power-of/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [When I think of the flag… I see alternate strips of parchment upon which are written the rights of liberty and justice, and stripes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/when-i-think-of-the-flag-i-see-alternate-strips-of-parchment-upon/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [Energy in a nation is like sap in a tree; it rises from bottom up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/energy-in-a-nation-is-like-sap-in-a-tree-it-rises-from-bottom-up/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) [Explore all 492 Woodrow Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) ## More Brother quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [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/) > [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/) [James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/) > [“Yeah. You treat him like a son or a soldier, instead of like a brother. He wants you to like him and admire him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-hunter/yeah-you-treat-him-like-a-son-or-a-soldier-instead-of-like-a-brother/) [Faith Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-hunter/) > [“Your relationship with your brother will be, in many ways, the most complex and bewildering of all the interpersonal connections you will form. An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-currie-jr/your-relationship-with-your-brother-will-be-in-many-ways-the-most/) [Ron Currie Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-currie-jr/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [There's no publicist, no advertisements, and no one's pushing us. 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