“You are worried and upset about many things.” Luke 10:41 NIV
“Beware; too many things can too easily displace a more important thing.”
My thoughts and comments today are about “too many things.”
One’s life can get busy quickly, and then never seems to slow down. You realize you’re busy and distracted, but you think you will have more time for those important things later, but it often seems that time never presents itself. Sometimes, there are just too many things and too few hours. Busyness is the result of failing to prioritize. Jesus’ advice was, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 NKJV.
You will not have time to do everything you would do, but God gives you all the time you need in order to do the things you should. I think my Dad drilled into me the practicality of “first things first.” I was more tempted to choose the fun, easy, and quickest things to do, and then try unsuccessfully to squeeze in more challenging and time consuming matters into whatever hours, energy, and resources were left over. Being hurried and harried is neither an effective nor enjoyable way to live. It happened to the Disciples; it can easily happen to you. Read Mark 6:31 NIV. Jesus had the solution for them; Jesus is the solution for you.
Luke relates an incident at the home of Lazarus in Bethany. Read Luke 10:38-42 NIV. Lazarus and his sisters were entertaining Jesus for supper. Martha was busy in the kitchen with all the preparations that hospitality requires for such a special guest. Meanwhile, Mary was in the other room delightfully listening to Jesus. When Martha complained to Jesus about her sister’s apparent neglect, Jesus corrected her instead of her sister, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better.” Luke 10:41 NIV.
Martha was “worried and upset.” Now that stings when you are working hard and getting little help. Been there; done that! Worry is upsetting; upset people vent frustration and find someone to blame for their agitation. Worry steals enjoyment of the moment; being upset strains relationships. The lesson is simple really. Beware; too many things can too easily displace a more important thing.
What do you think probably happened next? Did Mary rise and help? Did Martha join Mary in the company of their guest? Did everything that really needed to get done, eventually get done? We don’t know; we are never told. Jesus made His point; Luke reported the major accent of the exchange, and the outcome was apparently inconsequential. More important to us than what happened after Jesus’ words to Martha is what happened before, which exasperated Martha.
Look closer at the distinction Luke pictures for us. “She had a sister, Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” Vs. 40. Distracted by preparations! The Greek word translated as “distracted,” described a person “pulled in opposing directions.” That describes Martha for sure. You know how that feels; we all do. Avoid too many things pulling you in too many directions too much of the time.
My wife is a consummate hostess without peer, as all who know her would testify, never leaving anything undone “because nice matters.” But if not careful, she can become busy preparing and serving guests and then is left with little time to simply enjoy their company, as she loves to do. Lives can be like that, busy about so many things with too little time to do the right things and enjoy the best things – life, love, laughter, family, friends, and God. If you are too busy for daily time with God, you are too busy about too many things, when it’s as true of you as it was for Mary and Martha that Jesus said, “Only one thing is needed,” resting in the presence of Jesus.
My prayer for you today is: resist letting life’s busyness steal time from the right things.