Friday Thought -- June 10, 2011

Good Morning Friends,

“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called 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. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38-41)

Are you more like Martha or like Mary?

Martha was the doer. She was concerned about making sure everyone was taken care of. She wanted the meal she fed Jesus and His apostles to be just right. She is the kind of person who would have wanted the house spotless when they arrived and everything picked up again at the end of each day. She was busy – always busy. She was busy with good things – taking care of her guests – but still, she was busy.

Mary, on the other hand, found time for contemplation. She would have been fine with sandwiches that her guests would have made for themselves from the fixing she quickly set on the table. She would have done some straightening before Jesus arrived, but would not have been concerned if the house wasn’t spotless. She wouldn’t have noticed about any clutter that accumulated while her guests were there and wouldn’t have done anything about it even if she had noticed. She was content to sit and listen to Jesus.

Being a Martha isn’t wrong – as long as the busyness doesn't keeps you from focusing on the Lord and listening to Him.

Being a Mary isn’t wrong, either – as long as your contemplation doesn’t cause you to ignore things that really do need to be done – that God wants you to do.

There is a time to be a doer. There is a time to be listener. The hard part is in knowing which takes priority at any given time.

That’s what Martha missed. When Jesus was in her home it was time to simplify the doing and focus on the listening. She missed that opportunity and tried to get Jesus to make Mary miss it, too.

When Jesus wants you to be listening, are you? Or are you too busy doing?

His, by Grace,

Steve