“But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10: 41-42, NLT)
For a few days now, I have been thinking on the above words. Words spoken by Jesus Himself.
We often take these words as a harsh chastisement of Martha’s busyness, but they began to fall quite differently the last few days.
Was Jesus saying, don’t be hospitable and neglect preparing food for guests? Hardly, as hospitality was highly valued in those days, and Martha was fulfilling a role expected of women.
Was Jesus saying we are either worshipers or workers? This also is not true as we need to be workers who worship, or put another way – worshiping workers.
I think Jesus was trying to bring a warning to Martha, and to any of us who find ourselves too busy to keep up.
In our busyness, we can tend to ignore God. We push aside our devotional readings, say quick prayers on the go, or neglect both altogether.
Jesus, in addressing Martha, reminds her of the root of the problem:
It was not that she had too much work,
but that she had allowed her work to distract her from spending time with Jesus.
Her work had become the main focus which began to grow in Martha, an irritability and agitation with those around her. She complained and criticized her sister for choosing to take the time to listen to the words which Jesus was speaking to those in their home.
Busyness can often fill us with undue pressure causing us to become impatient and short with those around us. As we look at how much yet needs to be done, the remedy is not to do more but to do less. We need to step back and quiet our souls.
Both women displayed qualities needed in us all. We need to be both worshipers and workers.
Martha reminds us of the importance, and necessity, to maintain a consistent, intimate relationship with God in the midst of all our activity.
Mary reminds us of the importance, and necessity, to allow our private times of worship and devotions to fuel our activity.
In the midst of all we do,
may we remember the One for Whom we do.
Today I am joining … Tell His Story and Purposeful Faith and InstaEncouragements .
A great reminder! We need to be both Mary and Martha. I sometimes feel sorry for Martha because she was probably doing what she felt was the right thing to do. Thanks for your perspective.
Joanne, this right here is so helpful –‘worshiping workers.’
A right perspective that gives us a healthy approach to loving God and ministering to others. Thanks for this insight!
I appreciate this so much, Joanne. It’s not that one of these women was wired better than the other, or more spiritual, but that one had allowed her serving to distract her from Jesus. I love the idea of being a worshiping worker!
Oh, Joanne. This post speaks to my Martha-inclined heart. I have been working to not overcommit my time. And I’ve been more intentional about spending good time with Jesus just about every day. Thanks for the reminder that we don’t have to choose to be worshipers OR workers, but that we can do both, and do them well when Jesus is at the center of it all.
As we stay focused on the One for whom we do, we can do both work and worship.
This is so practical – and helpful! How easy it is to push our worship aside…
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reminding the Martha in me that Jesus is waiting for me to come sit with Him. As Our six o’clock hour comes around, which is our time together to go over the day, I love the way He draws me in so lovingly so that I may receive His grace, His comfort, His care. I sometimes forget, in my busyness, how sweet it is to sit at His feet and drink from the refreshment He alone gives. Thank you Joanne for your sweet reminder.
Oh Jo, you blessed me with the sharing of your thoughts! No better place to sit and think and take in than in quiet before Him. Love you, my friend!
Hi Joanne, great post and great reminder to always check our hearts. Are we focusing on the wrong things, giving too much attention to the wrong things?
I’m visiting from instaencourage link up.
God bless
Tracy
We need to check our heart and motives every now and then. As we do so, we will keep both our worship and work rightful before Him.
I love the story of Martha & Mary, Joanne. “In our busyness, we can tend to ignore God. We push aside our devotional readings, say quick prayers on the go, or neglect both altogether.” <”” THIS is so true!!!
In my busyness, I pray less, but ironically need to pray more! Funny how that works, isn't it!? Thank you for these excellent reminders!
Pinned, tweeted, and will share to the IE Facebook.
Thank you for linking up at InstaEncouragemtns!