Priorities: Worship or Service?
- Rebecca Monks
- Nov 28, 2018
- 3 min read
In this holiday season, when the demands of hosting and the hustle and bustle of myriad activities create many opportunities for stress and challenge our priorities, I am drawn to the story of Martha and Mary as related in Luke 10:38-42.
Martha and Mary were siblings who had very different personalities, and when Jesus visited them, we are taught a critical lesson about priorities. In sum, Martha busied herself with the tasks required to serve the master, while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and listened to Him speak. Martha wasn’t doing anything wrong; she was being a considerate hostess and preparing a meal for Jesus. But while Martha was busy working, Mary was idle, and her inactivity didn’t go over very well with her older sister: “Martha was distracted with much serving, and said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (v. 40, ESV).
Martha’s criticism sounds whiny and immature—and bold! “Lord, don’t you care that Mary won’t help me? Make her help me!” We need to think about how we approach the Lord. What tone are we using? Are we grumbling? Complaining? Whining? Trying to get Him to admonish others because we feel they’ve wronged us?
Regardless, Jesus’ response to Martha was a gentle rebuke: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (v. 41, ESV). Kindly, Jesus informs Martha her priorities are misplaced and that Mary’s attention is rightfully engaged. Mary was devoted to Jesus, and in her commitment to Him, she was absorbing His teaching. That is invaluable and once received cannot be taken away.
It probably never crossed Martha’s mind that she was the one who needed to rethink her actions. We’re often quick to see others as the problem without examining ourselves. Martha expected Jesus to reprimand Mary, but it was she who was admonished to assess her attitude and actions. Sometimes we can become so focused on serving others that we become self-centered or self-serving.
What begins with the right motivation to serve can become a matter of pride, and we lose the humility that should drive our acts of servitude. Martha had the right intention: she wanted to prepare a nice meal for Jesus and her guests, but she allowed her focus to drift from Jesus to the supper; she was more concerned about the meal than who it was for, so her priorities became skewed. Martha went from being a conscientious, gracious hostess to being resentful and critical of her sister. This tool of the enemy causes us to focus on ourselves and what we’re doing and become disapproving and judgmental of those whose callings differ from our own.
Martha’s service put the focus on her; Mary’s worship put the focus on Jesus. Although we’re all called to action in the Kingdom of God, we must not allow our work to take priority over our worship. As the narrative of Martha and Mary so clearly instructs, we must put personal devotion to God before acts of service, and we must focus on spiritual needs rather than physical needs.
Are you too busy to bow? Too consumed with work to worship? Too stressed to find moments of serenity at Jesus’ feet? Don’t allow the plethora of responsibilities prescribed by this season to cause you to lose focus on Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Comments