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January 9, 2007

Too Busy Serving?

by by Priscilla Shirer

It was interesting to me that in the passage about the feeding of the five thousand, we have absolutely no record of the disciples eating. All it tells us is that they picked up the leftovers. The disciples were doing good thing by serving, but they were so busy picking up the leftovers of everybody else's blessing that they missed on being filled.

Now I don't mind picking up leftovers, but I also want to be one of the ones getting fed. This means that I must carve time out of my busy day to sit quietly in the presence of Jesus so he can speak to me. Are you missing out on what Jesus wants to say to you because you're so busy serving?

I think this might have been part of Martha's problem. The Lord and his disciples had dropped in for supper at the home of Martha, Lazarus, and Mary. Martha was running around madly tying to get food on the table. She expected her sister to help her, but Mary was just sitting at the Lord's feet, listening to him. It was too much to take. So Martha went to Jesus and said, "Tell her to help me" (Luke 10:40).

"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" (vv. 41-42).

Like so many of us, Martha was too busy serving to sit down, and so she was hungry and cranky. Mary, on the other hand, was sitting peacefully at the Lord's feet being filled with the Bread of Life.

Don't the good things often keep us too busy to sit still at Jesus' feet and receive the best of what he has for us? I think about my life and particularly how I use my home. Most often when I have people over, it's ministry related. We're busy doing those good things in our homes, but sometimes I've found that the Lord doesn't speak to me while I'm preparing for or in the midst of those good things. He doesn't speak to me when I'm "worried and upset about many things." He speaks to me when everybody's gone and the house is quiet. It's when my body, mind, and emotions are still that he ministers and speaks to me. This seemed to be the case with Samuel as well. It's not that God doesn't want us to serve - he does. It's just that we must find a balance between serving and spending time in his presence.

The next time we see Martha, she's still serving. That was her gift, after all. Mary is again sitting at the feet of Jesus - this time, she anoints his feet with perfume (John 12:1-3). Though no one seems to be helping Martha, she no longer seems distracted, and she isn't complaining.

My guess is that after Jesus' gentle reproach, Martha learned to take time out from serving to sit down and hear from her Lord. However she rearranged her schedule, it worked, since her attitude was completely changed.

Posted by Amy Simpson on January 9, 2007 5:13 PM

Comments

This is so me! I'm very busy doing God's work... at the cost of spending time with Him, many times. I see myself in Martha, and cringe every time I hear someone mention her in comparison to Mary. Thanks for your words, I'll let them move around and take root in my brain the rest of the day. Blessings.

Posted By: Jennifer Oxford | January 10, 2007 9:17 AM

I love this story in the Bible. I've always felt tremendously guilty for my ineptitude in the traditional areas of women's service (meaning mainly the kitchen, children's division and social events). After 20 years in the church I finally gave in to the Still Small (nagging) Voice and began to serve as one of the teachers for a small adult Bible group. It's as if I finally heard "Only one thing is needful" for the first time.

Posted By: Trekant | January 13, 2007 10:08 AM

When we hunger and thirst for God's word, we make the time... or He can so change our lives that time with Him is "in" and something else is "out". Ever been there? I have. Thank God.

Posted By: Lori | January 16, 2007 5:06 PM

I like the point Priscilla makes about shutting out the business and listening to God, but I would caution her not to read things into the Scriptures. Just because the passage doesn't say that the disciples ate lunch with the people, that doesn't mean they went hungry. Whether or not the disciples were fed was not the point of Jesus' miracle or the Scripture. God uses his word to make his point, to tell us what he wants us to know, and we should seek to understand what he's told us without tryig to fill in the missing pieces of what he didn't say.

Posted By: Christian David | January 16, 2007 10:44 PM

Amen Bro. David. (Christian David)

I too, have ministries, and I have to remember to read, meditate and pray to my daddy in Heaven.

Sometimes, it's just good to be still and let God rejuvenate us in the phsycial as well. Amen?

God bless~
Agape~

Posted By: MsCj | January 17, 2007 12:25 PM

Help Me!

Posted By: Terry | January 19, 2008 6:57 AM

Thank you for these words of reminder. I am a pastor's wife and in ministry I'm I stay very business; not including traveling, entertaining, family, cooking and grand kids. There have been times when I have been very discouraged, frustrated, lonely and you name it. Just busy, busy, busy! I have now resigned from alot of things and I'm searching for God for myself. I have given 39 years to ministry, people etc. Now I'm striving for myself to find my purpose in Jesus Christ. Please call my name in prayer that the Lord will delight in me that I will do His will.

Posted By: Sylvia | February 26, 2008 9:01 PM

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