When I think about my personality, I realize I’m a Martha, as in Martha and Mary, Lazarus’s sisters (the guy Jesus raised from the dead). How cool would it be to just hang out with Jesus like these siblings did?
Luke 10:38-42
[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 only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
So, Martha was a type “A” perfectionist. I totally identify with her. She probably labelled and color coded her clay pots and wineskins. I get that. I once took a “Which Friends Character are You?” quiz and came out between a Monica and a Chandler (I guess I would be their offspring), so I’m a goofy, anal retentive person.
Anyway, I digress. Martha was working hard, like she probably always did, trying to make everything perfect while her guest was there, and she saw her sister just sitting around hanging with Jesus, so she got mad at Mary. Deep down, Martha wanted to be the one hanging out, listening to Jesus tell stories, but she couldn’t let go of all the “stuff” that needed to be done. Out of anger and jealousy of Mary’s ability to just chill, Martha called out her sister, but got a surprise response.
Mary had already taken stock of the situation and she realized spending time with Jesus was far more important than making sure the dirt floor got swept again. Seriously, the disciples were just going to keep on tracking in more dirt anyway. It isn’t that we should ignore our responsibilities (there are plenty of scriptures against laziness), but we need to prioritize sometimes and realize that time with the Lord should come first. We should keep a day of rest.
When I got to church today, I kept thinking about all the research papers I have to get graded in the near future and was planning how many I would get through today. Then the message was about worship and letting God know we love Him by spending time with Him in worship.
I’ve had many circumstances on my mind lately, some big and some small, and I have seen many prayers answered. While I sat in church today, I began to realize that I should probably carve out some time from grading research papers and the many other “things” that always keep me busy (after all, I worked on similar tasks all day yesterday already), and spend some time with God. So that is what I’m going to do today…
prioritize.
caverns of my mind 