But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
Jesus and His disciples were spending some time in the house of Martha and her sister Mary. Martha took it upon herself to take care of all the preparations that had to be made, but Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him. Martha complained to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” Jesus answered her by saying, “Martha, Martha… you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40-42).
Are you like Martha, always ready to serve? Are you always ready to take care of any preparations that have to be made? There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s good to be a servant. In fact, all of us are called to be servants (Luke 22:24-30). Our lives should be lives of self-sacrificial service. The Apostle Paul tells us, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).
The problem with Martha, then, was not her service. The problem with Martha was that she allowed her service to distract her from what was really important. Martha got so caught up in the preparations that she was unable to appreciate the better thing that was in her house. She was missing out on the Lord Jesus’ presence and His teaching. It didn’t have to be that way. She could have done both. She could have listened to the Lord as she got things ready. She could have refused to allow fretting and worrying about the preparations to distract her from appreciating the better thing.
Let us examine ourselves and follow Jesus’ admonition. Refuse to allow fret and worry to have a place as you serve the people you’re called to serve. The Lord may not be sitting in your living room right now, but you can commune with Him just the same. You can commune with Him while you do your work.
Indeed, it is your communion with the Lord, the Lord your help (Psalm 121:1-2), that will make everything you’re doing that much easier.
