--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must do the thing we must Before the…" description: "\"We must do the thing we must Before the thing we may; We are unfit for any trust Till we can and do obey.\" — George MacDonald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/george-macdonald-295_may_we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the_2576452.png" --- # We must do the thing we must Before the thing we may; We… ![“We must do the thing we must Before the thing we may; We are unfit for any trust Till we can and do obey.” quote by George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/george-macdonald-295_may_we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the_2576452.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/george-macdonald-295_may_we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the_2576452.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/george-macdonald-295_may_we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the_2576452.png) > “We must do the thing we must Before the thing we may; We are unfit for any trust Till we can and do obey.” [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The verse states that one must be obedient and capable before being trusted with responsibility. **In simple terms:** Earn trust by being obedient and competent. Key Takeaway Earn trust through obedience and competence. Themes trust obedience responsibility Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - leadership roles - team projects - personal development Key Concepts moral duty ethical behavior self‑discipline Questions to Reflect On - Are you ready to fulfill duties before seeking trust? - How does obedience relate to moral authority? A Different Perspective Trust cannot be granted without proven reliability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [If You Trust Someone, Trust Till The End. 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Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-b-joshua/) Browse all 33,019 May quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must do the thing we must Before the thing we may; We are unfit for any trust Till we can and do obey.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George MacDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the-thing-we-may-we-are-unfit-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "May" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the-thing-we-may-we-are-unfit-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/george-macdonald-295_may_we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the_2576452.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/george-macdonald-295_may_we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the_2576452.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/george-macdonald-295_may_we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the_2576452.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We must do the thing we must Before the thing we may; We are unfit for any trust Till we can and do obey.” — George MacDonald", "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": "George MacDonald", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We must do the thing we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the-thing-we-may-we-are-unfit-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/we-must-do-the-thing-we-must-before-the-thing-we-may-we-are-unfit-for/#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 } } ] } ```