Busyness

Bible In A Year | Read: Luke 10

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 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 10:38-42

Overview of Chapter

In the last chapter, Jesus was preparing 12 followers for ministry. In this one, he is developing 72 and asking them to pray for more. The message of Jesus is designed for growth. The responses to the message vary, but it is available to everyone, and everyone needs to hear it.

The stories of the Good Samaritan and Mary and Martha illustrate misplaced priorities. All are doing good things, but the Samaritan and Mary do the more important things. If God wants more people telling the good news of Jesus, that’s what is important. We can get distracted by doing good things that keep us busy, or we can do the important things.

Thoughts on the verses

“There’s just not enough time in the day to get things done.” Ever said or felt that? Many days we feel the very real restraints of time. Most of us aren’t walking around with extra time, wondering what to do with it. We feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that is jammed into our busy schedules. And if we’re not careful, our busyness can box us in from more important things. 

Jesus’ close friends, Mary and Martha, both had the same amount of time, but chose to spend it very differently. At first glance, it looks like Martha is the one who really understands what’s important in life. Martha opens up her home for Jesus. She cares so much about him and his followers that she prepares a meal. That’s all good. But Martha’s busyness causes her to miss out on the “better thing” that Mary is a part of with Jesus and his disciples.  

It seems confusing at first. Martha gets reprimanded for serving Jesus? But that’s exactly what makes this story so powerful. Jesus is saying that sometimes we have to learn how to say no to good things to focus on what’s most important. If we can grasp the limitations of time, we may choose to prioritize differently. And if we don’t purposefully choose how we will spend it, those choices will be made for us.

Action Steps

Bible: What is God showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.