The Balancing Act

LK 10:38-42

One Thing is Necessary

Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 

But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha's reaction to Mary's absorption with  Jesus could easily ring a bell with us, especially those of us involved in ministry. What began with some control and limit, often ends up consuming our time and relationship with family and others, like speeding downhill on a roller coaster.  At least at the bottom of "the big hill" we slow down for a bit as we mount the next one. But our ministry can get totally out of control and leads to complaints against those who don't, in our estimation, "do their share", or we fall into the self-pity attitude of "I'm the only one who does anything around here."  As Jesus intimated to Martha, there is a balance between work and attentiveness to others, work and attentiveness to, contemplation of him.  Finding ways to blend the two takes work and time, an ideal worth striving for. Let's begin today to work toward that balance.

Bro . Rene