Don't Forget to Untie the Cat

March 10, 2025

From Pastor Joseph Wamack

There was once a Christian man who was very devout and disciplined in his Bible study and prayer habits. Every day he had an hour of Bible reading and prayer in his study. He faithfully spent this hour each day reading Scripture, followed by a period of kneeling in prayer. As time passed, his prayers became longer and more intense. This devout, disciplined man also owned a cat.

He came to cherish this quiet time in his study, and his cat seemed to like it, too. She would cozy up next to him, purr loudly and rub her furry body against him. This interrupted the man's prayer time, so he put a collar around the cat's neck and tied her gently to the leg of the desk so she could not distract him while praying. This didn't seem to upset the cat, and it meant that the man could pray without interruption.

Over the years, the daughter of this deeply devoted Christian man noted how much her father’s devotional time meant to him. She saw the way he read Scripture, the way he prayed, the way he spent an hour with God, the way the cat was always tied to the leg of the desk.

As she grew and matured, as she established some devotional routines and patterns of her own, she decided she should do as her father had done. Dutifully she, too, tied her cat to the desk leg, and then proceeded to her devotions. But due to her busy lifestyle, she couldn't spend as much time in prayer as her father did. She could only manage 15 minutes, but she returned faithfully after the hour to untie the cat from the leg of the desk.

As time went on, she had a son. And as her son grew, he too desired to preserve some of the family morning, devotional traditions which had meant so much to his mother and his grandfather. But his busy lifestyle did not allow for elaborate devotional times of Scripture, prayer and kneeling before God. So he eliminated the Bible reading and prayer. But in order to carry on the religious traditions of his family, each day while he was dressing, he tied his cat to the leg of his desk.

Thus, we see, the tradition of “cat tied to the leg of the desk” was preserved, but it no longer had its original meaning. The form became more important than the faith it was meant to convey. This family had become religious without being righteous.

We do many things under the guise of being religious. We do them, not so much because we are in love with Christ or growing in our faith, but just to keep the appearance of being devout. We’re just “tying the cat to the leg of the desk” while we make the rest of our life fit into our schedule.

Forms and routines are wonderful. The secret of your success is found in your daily routines. But remembering the meaning behind the form and routine is key. Jesus said in John 5:39-40, “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” Opening the Bible and studying is wonderful. But the studying needs to lead to a deeper relationship with Jesus.

If you are like me, we need to reassess our routines, manners and habits periodically to make sure they are fresh, taking us where we want to go and deepening our walk with God. Blessings on you, MAC family. May you diligently search. May you find Christ. And don’t forget to untie the cat!