But 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." - Luke 10:40
Martha loved Jesus dearly and would have done anything for Him. Her struggle came in being still! Martha spent so much time serving Jesus that she had no time to enjoy His company or to get to know Him better. The harder Martha worked, the more frustrated she became with her sister Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet while Martha scurried around the house to make sure everything was in perfect order for Jesus. Martha's service, though it started out with gladness, deteriorated into resentment and envy.
It is good to want to serve Christ as an expression of love for what He has done for you. Yet when your activity consumes your time and energies so that you have no time for Him, you have become too busy! You may think, as Martha did, that if you don't do the work, it won't get done. That may be true, but Jesus taught that your highest priority must be your relationship with Him. If anything destracts you from that relationship, that activity is not from God. God will not ask you to do something that hinders your relationship with Christ. At times, serving God and carrying out His mission is the best way to know and experience God. At other times, it is more important to sit quietly at His feet and listen to what He is saying. We are not called to continually sit at the feet of Jesus; otherwise our service for Him would cease. Neither are we called to serve Him constantly, without taking time to find restoration in His presence. Have you been serving God so diligently that you have not had time to spend with Him?
Which have you found yourself doing more of? Are you a Martha or a Mary? I can tell you that I am a Martha through and through. I find myself always finding something to do and not being able to sit quietly with my Lord. I cannot understand those that can sit quietly with our Lord and have Mary "envy" or have I labeled it Mary "lazy". The priorities that I set in place are at times more like Martha's and I cannot understand the priorities of the Mary's of the world. I should know, I married a "Mary". There are times that I do not agree with her priorities and cannot understand, but as you think about the plan of our Lord. What is more important, a clean house, a meal at 6 pm, etc, etc, - you know the drill or making a prayer shawl for someone, or holding a child while they sleep, or playing cars with a grandson, or engaging in a conversation with an elderly loved one? I encourage you to think about your stance in all of this, are you a Martha or a Mary? Are you serving him or actually serving your own priorities? Are you making others in your requests serve our Lord or you? Listen to your heart as the Holy Spirit directs your answers.
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Balance is the key word. I've been recording Wife Swap to watch when I get the chance, and this show is another example of poor balance. They always pair 2 extreme families, one with a messy house and no money, but lots of family time, with a family with a spotless house, lots of money, but no family time. In the end, both families learn something from the other. I'm probably a little more of a Martha than a Mary. I try to have good balance between, volunteering with the church, playing with Ethan, and keeping a clean house with yummy meals. But the message I take away from this is the importance of quality time with just God. Sometimes my prayers are short, because I feel too busy to talk with God. Boy is that backwards!
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