NOTE: This article appears in the summer edition of “The Encourager”, a quarterly publication for ministry women in the New Your MInistry Network.

Martha gets bad a rap. The truth is, as committed Christ-followers, we are all Martha. We may not want to admit it or we may totally and hopelessly own it, but when it comes to serving Jesus we are so much more about getting it done than just being at His feet as Mary is described in Luke 10:38-42. But aren’t we supposed to serve Him whole-heartedly? He’s worth it, isn’t He? What’s wrong with falling into bed exhausted…every night…because of my ministry and family responsibilities?  

Martha didn’t have it all wrong. In fact, she had a lot right. But when Jesus corrected Martha it wasn’t her behavior He was correcting. It was her priority.  Notice I used that word in the singular. The word “priorities" is actually a relatively new one. Originally the word was singular, meaning the ONE important thing. Martha was “distracted with much serving” (v. 40) and after her request to Jesus for Mary’s help Jesus told her, “One thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." Jesus redirected Martha’s priority. 

There is always a danger for those of us who serve of being distracted by our service. Often, our service becomes the focus rather than the One being served. Martha was doing many things for Jesus without paying attention to Him at all, even though she truly loved Him. Isn’t that something you and I can fall prey to as well? In the past year I have developed a breath prayer that I try to remember as I prepare to do work for Jesus. “Lord, help me to do this WITH You, not just FOR You.”

I am certainly not perfect at this, but here are some thing you and I can do:

Refocus: Choose to refocus on Jesus. It starts with a choice. Priority determines how we spend our time. Whatever you are spending your time on is your actual priority even if it isn’t your expressed priority. Jesus was Martha’s spoken priority, but her service distracted her from listening to Him. Let’s not let that happen to us! There will always be another task to accomplish. If I don’t guard the time set aside for Jesus, it will get stolen. When my kids were small I set a daily time with Jesus, even if I could only grab fifteen minutes. During those years I would keep my Bible open on a kitchen counter and “nibble” the Word when I could. Now that my nest is near empty it is easier to find time, but I still have to make sure to keep my appointment with Jesus. 

Receive: We can’t give to others what we have not received from Jesus. Jesus wants you and I to learn to serve others from the place of our love relationship with Him. We can’t give the love of Jesus without receiving love from Jesus. He wants us to receive from Him and pour out what He has poured in, His love overflowing through us. It’s a discipline to sit still and receive. We Martha’s are so much more comfortable doing, but our strength, peace and security comes from receiving, not giving. Our devotional time needs to be about intimacy, not information. I struggle to stop reading and studying the Word to just sit and listen to Jesus. Even prayer can become about making it through a list. I have found a centering prayer app with a timer helpful as I discipline myself to just sit in His presence. The only way to get what we need to give is to receive it from Him. 

Re-Align: Choose what is best.  Our friend Martha may have been distracted, but her choices changed. In John 11 after Lazarus died, she was the first to run from her house to Jesus. Through her disappointment, she confidently expressed faith in Jesus as the Messiah. She then ran to Mary, who, by the way, was distracted by her mourning, and sent her to Jesus. Martha refocused Mary’s attention on Jesus. After the resurrection of Lazarus, John describes another dinner where Martha served (John 12). There is no mention of her being distracted then. And when her sister poured perfume on Jesus’ feet Martha didn’t correct her. Could it be that the rebuke she received earlier made a difference? Could it be that she served with her ears open to what Jesus was saying and sat when she could?  Could it be that Martha was in total agreement with Mary lavishly loving Jesus with perfume, maybe even financially supporting it? 

Martha didn’t stop serving, but I think she learned to lean in and listen to the heart of the Master while she was doing it. Jesus wants to transform your service into lavish acts of love through your time spent with Him so that it will be infused with life and energy instead of sapping the life out of you. Time to refocus, receive and realign. 

Key Thought: Being with Jesus is our priority.

A Scripture to consider: “But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:41-42‬ ‭NLT‬‬‬

A YES challenge: Ask yourself: Am I distracted by much serving from the ultimate goal of knowing and understanding the Lord? Do I take time to listen to what He has to say? What action steps can I take to refocus if I am distracted?

Prayer: Father, I want to serve You with all my heart, but I don’t want my serving to distract me from what is most important. Help me remember to stop, listen and be WITH You as I work FOR You. Amen.