Feb 5 Devotion: The Cart Before the Horse

Luke 10:38-42

38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

         Through the years, I have used a common cliché to explain what many of us do when it comes to the things of God. We often put the cart before the horse. We get things out of order and therefore end up either making a mess or simply not accomplishing our intentions. It is not wrong to serve. Martha was not doing something wrong by serving, but she put the cart before the horse. She worked without first worshiping. What she was doing would look good to the religious (and she thought she was right in her actions) but the Lord viewed it differently, for he knows that our efforts for him are only done through our relationship with him. We don’t begin our relationship through faith and then continue forward through self-effort. Yes, there is much to do, but it is only done through him, not without him.

         Verse 42 says that Mary had “chosen the good part” which tells us that in comparison, Martha had not. I remember reading a title on a magazine cover years ago that said, “We are so busy for the Lord that we are too busy for the Lord”. The phrase means that instead of investing our time in communing with the Lord as our first priority, we spend most of it doing stuff. Work becomes the priority rather than worship. This is not to say that the work of the Lord is not important. The Bible clearly says that we are to be “careful to maintain good works” (Titus 3:8) (and we should certainly do that), but if worship becomes an afterthought, then we have not chosen the “good part”. How much clearer could it be than when Jesus said, “for without me ye can do nothing”. (John 15:5) If we are going to do something for him, then we must be for him first.

         The cliché “Don’t put the cart before the horse” is explained in 1 Corinthians 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order”. A cart never pulled a horse, and a horse was made to pull, not to push. Let us choose the “good part” and worship first. Let us “wait upon the LORD” (Isaiah 40:31) so that we can gain the strength to do the work. Work is a byproduct of worship. It is not the other way around. Let us put the horse and the cart in their proper place. Worship comes before work.

In Christ’s Service,

Bro. Adrian Moore

2 Cor. 4:5