Busy But Not Blessed

Busy But Not Blessed (Luke 10:38-42)

Luke 10:38-42, “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Henry's short story called "The Gift of the Magi" is the story of a young couple named Della and Jim. They were a poor couple but they loved each other deeply. Each one had their own unique possession. Della's hair was her pride and joy. When she let her hair down it was like a robe on her back. Jim had a gold watch, which his father had given him. On the day before Christmas, Della had exactly $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She wanted to get him something he would really like, but she knew that she could not get much with a $1.87. She did the only thing she could do. She went and sold her hair for $20.00. With the money she bought a platinum chain for Jim's precious watch. Jim came home from work that night. When he saw Della's shorn head, he was left speechless. Slowly he handed her his gift. His gift was a set of expensive tortoise-shell combs with jeweled edges for her lovely hair. He had sold his gold watch to buy for her. Each had given all he or she had to give.

We no longer find Martha at the feet of Jesus. She was cumbered with much serving. The word "cumbered" means "to be drawn away here and there, to be twisted or wrapped up, to be distracted, to be over-occupied." She was continually distracted and over-occupied. Martha's service to the Lord Jesus Christ became a distraction from spending time with Him because she lost her spiritual balance. Her work for the Lord pulled her away from the Lord of the work.

The solution to our imbalance is not to stop serving the Lord, but to make sure we spend time with Him and have a good balance in our life. This is what Martha failed to do in this situation. In trying to be a blessing, she stopped being a blessing because of her griping. God's primary concern is not our activity or doing. He is more concerned about our being what He wants us to be. This is the reason why it is important to spend time with God and grow in faith and in the Word. Commitment starts in the heart. If God doesn't have our heart, He doesn't have us.

Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. The Lord tells Martha that "one thing is needful." In other words, a simple, plain meal would have been fine, not a big elaborate one. He did want her to understand that because she was so upset she was not making time for what was most important. She was busy, but not blessed. Jesus simply wanted Martha to rearrange her priorities. Mary chose the good part that would not be taken away from her. Mary chose to sit down and listen to what the Lord had to say. She chose to nourish her life with spiritual food that could not be taken away from her. She hungered for the words of Christ.

Looking in on this scene at Martha's home, we can tell what each sister's priorities were. Martha was concerned with preparing the meal and serving her guests. Mary, however, was more concerned with being in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. The level of spirituality we are able to achieve in life is directly related to the time we are willing to spend in His presence. If everything in our lives takes precedence over being with the Lord, then we are in danger at the heart of our experience. Even being overly busy in His work, to the point where we have no time to spend at His feet, is a bad thing. Martha was worried over physical nourishment while Mary was more concerned with getting her soul fed.

Mary had discovered “the one thing” - His presence. While Martha was busy doing for Jesus, Mary had chosen to be with Him. Martha was busy laboring, while Mary was busy listening. At some point, serving the Lord took the place of being with the Lord. Doing a duty does not equal intimacy. We all have our Martha’s within us, we tend to get so caught up in Martha that we lose sight of Mary. Her work for the Lord had pulled her away from her work of the Lord. This can happen to us as well. We too can get frustrated to the point where we feud, fuss, and fight. The solution to our imbalance is not to stop serving the Lord, but to make sure we are spending time with Him and have a good balance in our life. May we get to the place of service where we balance our service for Christ with our intimacy with Christ. This is what Martha failed to do in this situation. In trying to be a blessing, she stopped being a blessing because of her griping.

In life, we have to have a proper balance and proper priorities. God wants us to learn to listen to Him, spend time with Him, and get His guidance in our lives. When He guides you, then do what He leads you to do. Spend time with the Lord and enjoy His presence. That is what Mary did. Without spending time with Christ, you may end up being busy, but not blessed.

Questions to Consider:
Is spending time with Jesus a priority?
Have you stopped being a blessing to your family and friends because you gripe all the time?

Points to Ponder:
May we put our priorities on the presence of Jesus.
One of the greatest privileges we can have in life is being in the presence of the Lord.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to take the time to just come into Your presence and feed on You! In Jesus name, Amen.

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