Choose What Is Better

“Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42)

When Jesus came to visit Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, the sisters were very busy, probably engaged in preparing a meal for the Lord and His disciples. Luke’s account tells us that Martha was “distracted with much serving,” giving us valuable insight into her heart . . . and into our own hearts as well! In serving her Lord, Martha was actually serving herself. Even service to Jesus can become self-serving if we allow it to happen. Martha had lost sight of her Savior because she shifted her focus to her service. Mary didn’t all into that trap; when Jesus arrived, Mary knew it was time to put her doing down and sit at the feet of her Lord.

The question we must ask ourselves is this: Am I more like Mary or Martha? We can get so busy doing stuff for our Savior that we neglect spending time with Him. Martha was encumbered by all of her doing, and she quickly grew frustrated that Mary had stopped helping with the preparations. “Lord,” she grumbled, “don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” (Luke 10:40). Notice how Jesus responded to what amounted to a peevish rebuke from Martha.

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

In the ancient cultural context, when someone’s name was repeated, it was a sign of relationship, friendship, and intimacy. Jesus was not upset with Martha, even though Martha seemed to be a bit upset with Him. In essence, Jesus was saying, “Martha, I appreciate all that you are doing in making preparations for our visit. Hospitality is a good thing, and we are to show it to everyone. But if we aren’t careful, the focus of our hospitality can shift away those we are serving, because we have begun serving ourselves.”

I can personally testify to this truth –perhaps I should say confess to this truth — from my life as a pastor. There have been too many times when my service has been self-serving. We are not immune to serving ourselves even when we are serving our Savior. We must constantly check our motives.

How is it with you? Which of the two sisters do you more closely resemble? I think we all have a bit of both Martha and Mary in us if we truly love our Lord. We want to serve to the best of our ability, but we need to know there is a time for serving and a time for sitting. Have you chosen what is better? May this be the confession of our lives.

This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!