Articles
One Good Thing
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Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." (Lk. 10:40-42)
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When Jesus passed through their village and chose to stay at the home of Mary and Martha, the sisters were thrilled at the opportunity to have Jesus as their guest--but for entirely different reasons. Like most siblings, Mary and Martha had different personalities, and those differences were manifested on this occasion. Mary saw this as a rare opportunity to sit at the feet of Jesus and feast on His words. Martha saw it as a rare opportunity to prepare a meal for Jesus; after all, how many people in the history of the world can say that they've had the Son of God put His feet under their table?
Two sisters, two priorities--and one vitally important lesson for our busy lives today.
Martha's desire to serve a meal to her Savior was laudable, but under the circumstances it was misguided. Martha had here an opportunity to receive a gift far more valuable than anything she could give--a personal Bible study with the Son of God Himself--yet she didn't recognize it. Serving a meal was a good thing; having a private counseling session with Jesus was far better. Mary got it; Martha didn't.
Like Martha, we can get wrapped up in so many activities--all of which are legitimate, even helpful--that we start to lose sight of the more important duties of life. We neglect Bible study and prayer. We skip meetings with our brethren. We overlook opportunities to comfort, encourage, or counsel the weak and struggling. Instead, like Martha we become "worried and troubled about many things" that are not nearly as important. Over time, those misplaced priorities began to take a toll on our spiritual vigor. We grow tired, increasingly frustrated that our busy life of "good works" is not making us happier.
Maybe we're so busy serving that we're not taking time to be served. There is only one good thing that cannot be taken away from us. Make that our first priority, and everything else will fall into place.
--David
