Dealing with Busyness

By Filoiann Wiedenhoff

"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." 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 10:38-42

was driving around one afternoon; running errands for this and that, picking up the kids, and dropping them off here and there. Now that I have teenagers I think I spend more time in my car now than ever.

As I was coming home, I thought about the story of Martha and Mary and how the topic of sitting at the Lord’s feet has been coming up a lot lately. So I asked myself, "Where is the balance between being a Mary and a Martha?"

What I love about God's Word is when you look at the heart of what the scriptures are really saying, you will find that it makes so much sense and brings clarity. For example, Martha was doing a noble thing. She was preparing a meal for Jesus and His disciples, while Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet.

So asking Mary for a little help would have been reasonable. The wonderful thing about Jesus was that He knew how hard Martha was working in the kitchen and also knew that she probably did need help, but saw Mary's heart as an opportunity to display His will rather than Martha's will.

Jesus set the tone with His response to Martha by saying that she was distracted serving. The key word here is "distracted.” What's interesting is the word used in the Hebrew is "Perispao," in our English language it is "cumber," which means hindered by being in the way.

Martha's busyness and serving was actually hindering her and getting in the way of her relationship with Jesus. Is your service or busyness keeping you from or getting in the way of having a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus?

Jesus also said that Mary chose the good part and it would not be taken away from her. The word "part" also means portion. He was making a distinction between Martha's serving and Mary's sitting.

In our relationship with Jesus we are created to serve Him and Glorify God, but we are also called to sit at His Feet and receive from Him. Jesus makes it very clear which part comes first.

So the next time you find yourself being a Martha, don't forget to ask yourself if you are first being a Mary. Invite Him in and allow Him to feed you with His Word and in the midst of your busyness you will find peace and joy because you dine with your Lord and King who sustains you and makes you full. For the bible says that He will satisfy us.

Last question: Are you dining with Him? If not, He stands at the door knocking and waiting for you to open the door of your heart. Allow Him to come in and dine with you and you with Him.

Filoiann Wiedenhoff is a pastor’s wife, woman’s biblical counselor, writer and columnist. You can check out her website at  filoiannwiedenhoff.com.