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)
Distractions Distort Our
Focus
Life is full
of distractions that cause us to lose focus.
As Christians, when we allow ourselves to be distracted from fulfilling
the desired intentions of God for our lives, we lose focus just as Martha did.
Distraction Focuses On the Project
Instead Of the Person
Mary and
Martha had invited Jesus to their home. Jesus had been in and out of villages
preaching to multitudes, healing the sick, and dealing with the constant
criticism of the religious leaders. Jesus was here for a break and to be
ministered to. Martha got caught up in
the "Project of Hospitality" to the point that she forgot about who
she was trying to be hospitable to. Martha's focus was to minister to Jesus.
She had lost sight of Him because she was focusing on the project, not the
person.
The projects
of our lives are not more important than the people we are called to minister
to. Our main focus as individual believers and as a church is Jesus. If we're caught up in the project to the
neglect of the person, then we're focusing on our own service rather than
ministering to the needs of others. If
our Sunday School program is more important than Jesus, we are distracted.
Distraction Focuses On The Problem
Instead Of the Privilege
The project of
hospitality had become a distracting problem for Martha. She had forgotten the privilege of who she
was serving. Problems are readily
available when we focus on ourselves rather than the privilege of serving. Bible study teachers complain about the
students rather than seeing the privilege of serving Jesus in ministry to their
classes. Pastors complain about the
problem of unfaithfulness to the point they become unfaithful to the privilege
of serving Jesus.
The point being that we can all become so distracted that the good we
are supposed to be doing becomes a burden and problem. Many become “weary in well-doing” because
they only see the problem and not the privilege. Remember the precious privilege of serving
Jesus.
Distraction Focuses On The Pain Instead
Of the Pleasure
Martha's
joy soon became her pain. Listen
to her words, "Why am I doing this
all alone? Why isn't Mary helping me?"
She was not enjoying the moment.
The privilege and pleasure of serving Jesus had become painful. Martha in the midst of her company felt all
alone. How many servants of God look
around as Peter did at John and ask "Lord, and what about this man?" Jesus answer to Peter was, “What is that to
you? You follow Me!" (John 21:21-22) When the pain of ministry steals our focus
and places it on others, we have been distracted.
Martha found
herself in a bit of a pity party. Here she was running here and there and she
looked around her and everyone else was sitting down! Martha's words of, "Lord,
do you not care ..." ring ever so close to self-pity. Probably if we
are honest, we have muttered the same words in the same self-pity. Self-pity leads to criticizing others, and
eventually criticizing God. We must stop and see where our focus is.
Focus on the person, privilege and pleasure of serving Jesus.
Scripture to Claim:
Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we
will reap if we do not grow weary. (Galatians 6:9)
