Busy-ness
Are you too busy with ministry-related projects to find time for God? It sounds crazy, but it's true. Sometimes we focus so much on good, worhty, ministry or church projects that we neglect our relationship with God. This is not what ministry or church is supposed to be all about.
In Luke 10:38-42, we find an example of this very problem. Jesus is at the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha would appear to be a Type A personality, and Mary a Type B. When Jesus arrives at their home, Martha flies off into the kitchen to prepare a big feast for Jesus and his disciples. Martha was cooking, roasting, baking, and grilling, but she was not chilling. Mary, meanwhile, was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to every word that He spoke. This ticked Martha off. She marched out to where Jesus was teaching and Mary was listening and said, "Jesus! Don't you care that Mary has left me to do everything in the kitchen? Tell her to get off of her feet and help me out!"
Jesus just looked at her and said, "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."
Those simple, humble, and direct words of Jesus must have hit Martha right between the eyes. All of the work that she was doing was keeping her from hearing the words of Jesus, and keeping her from building her relationship with Him. It wasn't that Martha's work wasn't important or worthwhile, it's just that she was making it a higher priority in her life than her relationship with Jesus, and that's where she got off track.
It's the same with us. It's very easy for us to get caught up with worthwhile projects, in church or in a certain ministry, but sometimes what happens is that a GOOD project keeps us from having a GREAT relationship with God. We must guard against this. We must guard against having so much "busy-ness" in our lives that we neglect our relationship with God. There is no ministry or project on this earth which should ever be a higher priority for us than our relationship with God. Martha had to learn that lesson. So must we.
In Luke 10:38-42, we find an example of this very problem. Jesus is at the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha would appear to be a Type A personality, and Mary a Type B. When Jesus arrives at their home, Martha flies off into the kitchen to prepare a big feast for Jesus and his disciples. Martha was cooking, roasting, baking, and grilling, but she was not chilling. Mary, meanwhile, was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to every word that He spoke. This ticked Martha off. She marched out to where Jesus was teaching and Mary was listening and said, "Jesus! Don't you care that Mary has left me to do everything in the kitchen? Tell her to get off of her feet and help me out!"
Jesus just looked at her and said, "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."
Those simple, humble, and direct words of Jesus must have hit Martha right between the eyes. All of the work that she was doing was keeping her from hearing the words of Jesus, and keeping her from building her relationship with Him. It wasn't that Martha's work wasn't important or worthwhile, it's just that she was making it a higher priority in her life than her relationship with Jesus, and that's where she got off track.
It's the same with us. It's very easy for us to get caught up with worthwhile projects, in church or in a certain ministry, but sometimes what happens is that a GOOD project keeps us from having a GREAT relationship with God. We must guard against this. We must guard against having so much "busy-ness" in our lives that we neglect our relationship with God. There is no ministry or project on this earth which should ever be a higher priority for us than our relationship with God. Martha had to learn that lesson. So must we.
posted by Stephen Guschov at 11:05 AM
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