Devotional: One Thing is Necessary

"But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.""

‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:40-42‬ ‭NASB‬‬

Here we have Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus and Martha is scrambling around in the kitchen trying to make a perfect meal for their guest. Verse 40 says that Martha was distracted with all her preparations. Martha is frustrated that Mary is not helping her. She begins to complain to Jesus about this and tells Him to tell her to help her.  

I love how practical Scripture is! It gets right down to the heart issues. Look at Martha.

1. She is distracted 

2. She attempts to put Jesus and Mary on a guilt trip

3. She has a martyr complex

4. She avoids talking directly to the one she is upset with

Oh my!  I have been guilty of all these things!  When I take the time to stop and think about it, numbers 2-4 are most likely to happen when I am distracted.  

Distractions take my focus off the things that should be my priorities, causing me to get behind, hurried and worried in things that need to be done.  Then I become cranky and try to guilt others into helping, feel sorry for myself and sometimes avoid talking directly to those I want help from.

In Martha's defense, she welcomed Jesus into their home.  Due to the fact that she apparently wasn't prepared for company, she then got a little cranky. But I have to commend her for her hospitality. I'm afraid I might have declined if I was not prepared for guests.

I love Jesus' response. "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

  I think social media has become a scourge.  The internet provides endless distractions. Sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening and obeying His Word gets lost in the shuffle and the true priorities get left undone. When the opportunity for hospitality and building relationships comes, we are too distracted to take part in it. 

One thing is necessary.  Seating at Jesus' feet, listening to His Word. When we listen to Him, our priorities come into focus.