Picture this scene with me. You have company coming over. Not close friends, (the house is fine as it is and delivered pizza is adequate), but real company. You want everything to be perfect so you spend lots of time straightening the entire house. This is the first time they have seen the place and so you want to leave a good first impression. Then you have to prepare a meal. You can’t just order something easy or have a delivery, but you have to make a full-blown meal with meat, sides, bread, and dessert. You bring out your best dishes and set the table.
Once the guests arrive, it doesn’t really get any better as you are trying to make sure they get their plates full and you keep the drinks poured. You may get to sit and eat some with the guests, but you soon feel pulled away as it’s time to prepare for dessert and get the refills poured. You want to make sure everything is perfect until they step out the door to head home for the evening.
I feel like this is probably similar to a modern-day description of Martha when Jesus was coming to visit.
“As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into their home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.’ 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 10:38-42
Martha was so concerned with all the “doing” that she had forgotten the “being.” When Jesus arrived, Martha immediately went into “host” mode, trying to honor Him by the preparations she made and the hospitality she showed. In other portions of Scripture, the Bible actually teaches about opening our homes to guests and showing hospitality and genuine love to others. However, when the details of the service or ministry become the focus, then we no longer have the capacity to focus on the One we are serving.
There are many characteristics that appear when we focus on “doing” instead of “being.”
1.) We become so focused on the ministry and the details that we become distracted from the true purpose.
Martha serving as a hostess was not wrong. Jesus never traveled alone and so there were surely lots of preparations to be made. However, Martha became so concerned about the details that she missed out on the divine appointment and the “good part.” She was so busy serving Jesus that she missed out on the opportunity to sit and learn from Him. She missed out on the time to just BE with Him. Mary knew that women did not have these opportunities often; times where they could learn from the Messiah. So, she took advantage of the time to BE with her Savior. As Christians, how many times do we let the details of “DOING” become a distraction for “BEING” with Christ? Do we serve in so many capacities and minister to others so much that we miss out on the time to truly just sit with our Savior and learn from Him?
2.) We become so focused on working for Christ that we become irritated at others who we view as not doing enough.
Martha had allowed her expectations and service to become so overwhelming that she began to become irritated with others. She didn’t understand why Mary was “being lazy” and sitting at the feet of Jesus when there was so much work to do. She even got to the point where she criticized her sister to her Savior. ‘She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.’ She had become so focused on the tasks that her heart was no longer devoted to service, but was viewing it as work. When we begin to view our ministry or service as work, then our thoughts often shift to looking at others who aren’t pulling their weight.
3.) We become so worried about getting the work done that we begin to question why God is not calling others to the same load.
Martha became so worried about her sister not working that ultimately she questioned if Jesus was going to call her out because of her lack of effort. Martha wanted Jesus to reprimand Mary for not pulling her weight in the situation. However, this was not a weight that had been placed on her by her Savior, this was a weight or burden she had placed on herself. Many times we get so wrapped up in doing things for Christ that we start to question Him when we become overwhelmed by all the burdens we have placed on ourselves. Jesus did not call Martha to serve to the degree she was distracted. We have to be mindful of this ourselves as we can become overwhelmed in the “doing” of our relationship that we forget to sit and “be” with Christ.
God has called us to serve Him in many ways. God has called us to minister to others. We must be mindful that our “doing” does not become a distraction to our “being” with Him. Ultimately, Jesus stated that Mary had chosen the “one thing worth being concerned about.” While we don’t know exactly what that “one thing” was, we can glean from the passage that it is in reference to Mary’s attitude and listening to her Savior. It is possible that our work for Christ turns into busywork or self-serving work and then we have missed the “one thing worth being concerned about.” God has called us to “DO,” but we must be careful that our “doing” does not interfere with our “being” with Him.
This blog was written by Amy Carrico: Author of Making the Moments Matter Blog
Last Updated on April 12, 2024
Thank you! I needed this!