October 22, 2023: Sit or Serve???

"But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." (Luke 10:40, ESV)

This snapshot of scripture shows Martha serving and Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. Which should you be doing, serving or sitting? Many people struggle to answer the question. Actually, the question is wrong. Disciples are not called to either sit or serve, but they are called to both sit and serve. God desires that we find Him in the secret place so we do not get a 'Martha' heart while serving.

Martha was distracted by much serving. The word distracted means to be drawn away from. Martha, in her serving, was drawn away from Jesus. She was drawn away from her source of peace. All her tasks were taking her away from her Lord. Distractions cause stress because they pull us in many directions at once. Distractions make you feel alone and cause you to become self-focused and self-righteous. She even accused Jesus, "Don't you care?" Then she accused Mary, "My sister left me alone to serve." And to top off her stress, she tried to control Jesus: "Tell her to help me!"

Jesus reminds Martha that she has a choice as he commends Mary for choosing the most advantageous thing. You see, you can serve distracted or choose the needed and necessary 'thing' from which everything else flows. You can sit at the feet of Jesus while serving. We call that abiding in Christ.