Serving and/or Growing?

     If you're like me, you have to make an extra effort to multitask.  It's not easy for me to read a book and listen to someone at the same time.  Actually, I have a tendency to slow down whatever I'm doing by just talking at the same time.  I find that for me, it's best to simply focus on one thing at a time, most of the time.  There are exceptions, but I should never be so busy with one thing that I fail to take care of something equally or even more important.  Have you ever neglected something important because you were busy?  I have, and I think I can safely say (though I have no statistics to back it) that everyone else has too.  If we look at the Bible, we can see an example of someone who did exactly what we do.  Her name is Martha, and perhaps you've heard of her.  After all, her story has been often told.  But that doesn't make it any less reliable or true.  The fact of the matter is, that Martha was busy, and it took a gentle reminder from Jesus Himself to tell her something that we all need to hear today.

     We pick up her story in the (very detailed) gospel of Luke, where Jesus is staying at the house of some friends.  Martha and her sister Mary are hosting Jesus, but they seem to have very different priorities.  Looking at Luke 10:38-40 we see what Martha was "putting up with".

     "Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  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 10:38-40 NKJV)

     Martha has a legitimate complaint, wouldn't you agree?  When I have someone at my house, I can stand it when my co-host is taking it easy, leaving me to do the work, especially when they're with someone we're both friends with.  Oftentimes I imagine this, and the fact is they're working as hard as I am.  But the Bible makes it clear that Mary wasn't giving her sister any assistance, but was instead hanging out with Jesus, which rather exasperated Martha.  Her train of thought could have been "Here I am working to make Jesus comfortable, and give Him a pleasant experience, and my sister's not even trying to help!"  So she (naturally) complains to Jesus.  But His response is a bit surprising.  Look at what He says:

      "And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”" (Luke 10:41-42 NKJV)

     What is to be taken from this response?  How should we respond?  Jesus made a pretty surprising and perhaps confusing statement.  But it's only confusing because it sound abnormal according to our standards.  Let's look at some key words in the passage, and see what we can deduce from it.

     In Luke 10:40 we read this: "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.” (NKJV, boldface added)  It doesn't say "Martha was trying to make Jesus some nice sandwiches" or "Martha was attempting to be a good hostess."  It says she was "distracted with much serving".  She was sidetracked.  She couldn't focus on enjoying Jesus' company and teaching because she was distracted, and not by something unworthy.  She wasn't distracted by trying to make sure her hair looked nice, or that her arrangement of the table settings earned her compliments, or anything like that.  She was distracted by serving.  She was so busy serving that she didn't have time to simply be with Jesus.  How often do we follow her example?  We have that church buffet to organize, that Bible study to lead, that church campus to purchase, and we forget to spend some time growing in the Spirit, reading the Bible, and enjoying our Father's company.  Yet we aren't trying to be sinful.  It's not like the things of this world are keeping us from God.  But what does it matter?  If we spend so much time serving that we have no time to grow, the amount of service we can offer will be diminished, and so will our enthusiasm for doing it, for it is God who motivates us to serve.  If we spend time away from God supposedly serving in the kingdom of God, we do ourselves (and God) a disservice.  Thankfully, the remedy is simple. Turn off your cell phone for a day and dedicate some time to God.  Or ask your friend to lead the Bible study this week.  Whatever it takes, loosen up your schedule to make time for God.  It's not bad to do so.  If you serve a little less so you can grow a little more, you'll be a better Christian and (incidentally) a better servant.

     There's something else we can see from the passage.  In Luke 10:41 when we read Jesus response, we see what Jesus says to Martha.  "And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things." (NKJV, boldface added)  This simply corresponds to what we looked at earlier.  Are we letting the cares of this life choke out God's Word in our lives?  Do we get so concerned about so many things that we don't give God any of our time?  Simplify, and take Jesus advice from Matthew 6:31 where He tells us how and when to worry.  Trust me, this verse opens up whole new worlds.  Are you ready?  Okay.  "So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’" (Matthew 6:31 NIV 1984)  It doesn't get much clearer than that, does it?  We should never allow worry into our lives, and we should never ever allow it to keep us from spending time with God.  

     Martha is perhaps a perfect embodiment of an everyday situation.  The nice thing is that, as with so many other cases, we have a Bible to tell us how to handle these things.  By looking at Martha, we see how our service should never crowd out our room for growth.  It's okay to take a break and spend time with God.  You should never work yourself into the ground in the name of "serving God".  He doesn't want that from you.  Remember, it's the condition of your heart He cares about, and not every little thing that you do, although that is important to Him as well.  Also, never allow the cares of everyday life to crowd out time for your Father.  That does you no good, but instead deprives you from the One Person Who can solve those worries.  But if you make time for Jesus, and put Him and His Word before your opportunities to serve, you'll be better than you could if you did nothing but serve.

(NKJV Means New King James Version)

(NIV 1984 Means New International Version 1984)