Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 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.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 Perhaps this is a mixture of getting older and other distracting stimuli, but it seems like the things I used to be able to concentrate on no longer hold my attention, and I often find myself getting distracted....often. What is more, it's not always the most obvious things that distract me. Often times, it's GOOD things, things I SHOULD do that distract me from the BEST thing I COULD do. What am I talking about? My relationship with God of course. IN the course of my day, I call people, text, interact and help to build up God's people. I'm a dad, at times a teacher, a gardener, and many other things beside this. I spend time with my wife and kids, interact with the neighbor kids when they hang out at our house, and talk with my neighbors. I take time for myself, to unwind, relax, and turn off my brain for a bit until I need it again. Not at all bad things! YET it seems that in spite of all of these good things in my life, I'm scatter brained, busy, and constantly trying to make sure things get done. What's the deal? Why do I feel so distracted? Aren't I doing good things to give my life meaning and make it count? Why do I feel so scatterbrained? Let's take a look, for a moment, at Mary and Martha. Martha had things to do. Sure, Jesus of Nazareth was in her living room (or wherever it was in the house), but there were people to feed, disciples to make comfortable, social niceties to observe. Mary, on the other hand simply sat down and listened to the guest. Martha, when she pointed these things out to Jesus was, then, chided by Jesus because she complained that Mary wasn't observing the social norms! Wasn't Martha doing good? Of course she was. Yet what Mary chose was BEST. How often do we, too, miss out on what is BEST for what is good? We fill our lives with good, even GREAT things, but if we're constantly busy with good and great things, we'll miss out on Jesus. Being a good spouse, parent, worker, neighbor, or whatever else we may be good at pales in comparison to sitting at Jesus' feet. By comparrison, all the GOOD things in our lives should already be about the BEST thing, Jesus. This is why I am so scatter brained. I chase after good things, while failing to sit at the feet of Jesus. What good things cause you from missing our on the best thing? What can you lay aside to sit down at the feet of Jesus? Beth
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules[c] of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.-Psalm 119:9-16
