03/15/17 - Luke 10

March 15, 2017 – Luke 10

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed." Luke 10:41

Focusing on many worries distracts us from the One Thing that brings focus to our lives – God Himself.

I have never really liked this story about Mary & Martha.  It seems to me Martha gets the short end of the stick, and she is the one working hard.  While Mary is honored for just hanging around and doing nothing.  After being raised to respect the value of work, and believing that work generates reward, I just didn’t understand why Jesus would celebrate the ‘lazy’ instead of the diligent.

But a little deeper look at the story gives a bit more insight.  This story isn’t about work, it’s about focus.  Jesus wasn’t honoring lazy people.  In fact, the Bible clearly says that laziness makes a person poor, considers laziness foolish, and says if a man won’t work he shouldn’t eat!   Jesus is not condemning Martha’s work ethic either.  She is honored by her work and loved by Jesus for it.  Her effort for Jesus is a primary reason she is in the stories about Him in the first place.

No, this isn’t about work.  This is about focus.  Mary’s focus was on Jesus.  Martha’s focus was on the meal.  Mary saw Jesus as the reason for the party.  Martha thought that the party would be ruined if the meal wasn’t done right.  Mary focused on the Lord, Martha focused on the work.  Mary worshipped, Martha worked.

I hate to say it, but too often we find ourselves thinking more like Martha than like Mary.  It’s not about whether you have a strong work ethic, driving personality, or leadership responsibilities.  Jesus is interested in our worship more than our work.  Yet too often, we worry about making our families happy, getting the kids on the right sports team, making enough money, keeping the job, and accomplishing the busy schedule … and are willing to sacrifice Sunday worship, time in devotions, or even the chance to serve Him.  We can say we’re doing it for God, but our focus isn’t on God, it’s on something else.

When life gets our focus, we find ourselves running in circles, and struggling to make any progress.  But when we focus on Jesus, He will take care of our progress and keep us moving forward in life.

Take stock on your life & schedule – is it looking more like Martha or more like Mary?  Put aside your busy activities and put more focus on Jesus.  That may be hard at first, and cost some initial pain, but you will discover a greater peace and much better results.  You might even find that the meal still gets done, and the worries aren’t as prominent.

Just go back to your First Focus.