Luke 10:38-42. 38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at [a]Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 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.”
41 And [b]Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
I'm Martha in this story.
This past Sunday, I was feeling exhausted in the morning and therefore a little prickly around the edges. Hubby asked what was going on. I told him I was exhausted, but I didn't feel I had the right to be, because we don't have kids. Looking back now, that logic makes no sense. Kids are not the only reason for being tired.
Anyway, hubby reminded me that I had been burning the candle at both ends. He was right. I had been overdoing it and starting to burn out.
Our home is not spotless, but I do my best. And the idea that someone might walk into my apartment and see me relaxing with a book while there is housework to be done terrifies me. Again, not logical, no one is going to just walk into our apartment without notice. I wanted to share this part with you in case you, too, struggle with this issue. I wanted to encourage you that you are not alone. Being found resting while there are non-essential chores to be done. In my head, if someone were to walk into my home and see me in this situation, it would make me feel lazy and devalue myself in their eyes. I’m learning to remind myself that that situation is not likely to happen and that the person coming into my home does not get to dictate my worth. Only God does. Because of this fear and another issue, I struggle to sit down and relax. The other half of my issue is that I struggle with attaching my worth to my work. Something else God and I are working on.
During worship at church later that morning, God told me I was being Martha. I don't recall my exact thought in response to His conviction, but it was something like, 'yeah, you are right." I prayed and asked for forgiveness at the end of the service. I wasn't a shocking conviction by any means. But it did get my attention. I told hubby about it on our way home. His response was, 'yikes.' I told him I wasn't upset.
There is a time to get things done and a time to spend with the Lord. But time with the Lord does need to come first. When we put Him first, He will give us all the time and energy needed to get everything else done.
And yes, traditionally, or at least here in the west, it's common place that when you are hosting people, you are likely not sitting down. Because you are refilling drinks, taking empty plates, etc. The way that the story reads suggests that there probably was pleasantly of time to serve later on, meaning that Martha could have sat at Jesus feet and taken in the message before serving the meal. But, if she had done that they it may not have been recorded in the Bible and would be a lesson for us today. I’m so thankful for these two women and many other women in the Bible that we get to read about. Because it shows us that we are not alone in our struggles. There are times when we read their stories and think to ourselves, “I would never do that,” and then somewhere down the road, we find ourselves in their shoes and get a serving of humble pie.
I'm not saying there isn't a time and place for a busy day or a fuller schedule. But when the Savior of the world is in your home, visiting and preaching, you should be sitting and listening. But the poor woman was in autopilot and doing what she knew to do. Serve. But, in that moment, there was a better option. One that she missed out on, but we don’t have to anymore. He may not be physically in the room with us, but He is in our hearts and is with us always, which means we have even more opportunity to spend time with Him than she did.
So, the next time you find yourself doing a chore that doesn’t really need to be done in that moment, ask yourself if there is something else better that you could be doing. Should you spend some more time with the Lord in your prayer closet or maybe unwind with a bubble bath? Take a step back, and check your heart and motives and see if there is something more beneficial that you could enjoy instead.
The world celebrates Martha, but God celebrates Mary. Let’s be more like Mary.
I pray this encourages, teaches, challenges, and blesses you today, friend.
God Bless
~Hannah
It's time to stop amd take a break.
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