Losing Focus
Losing Focus
Luke 6-10
Luke 10:41-42, “But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
We are easily distracted by the trivial and sacrifice the eternal for the present. How often are we driven and governed by what is temporal and insignificant? What we believe to be so important today is often discarded and rejected as inconsequential and worthless tomorrow. In our quest to follow the crowds, we spend countless amounts of money to purchase the latest fashions and popular brands, only to discard them in the Goodwill bin tomorrow because they are no longer in vogue.
In Luke 10:38-42, we find a common scene in a household. Jesus had entered the home of Mary and Martha. The honor of such a guest required the host to prepare a lavish feast; anything less would be a social faux pas. This, at least, was the thinking of Martha and her contemporaries. During this time, it was incumbent upon the host to honor an important guest with a lavish dinner and entertainment. Martha, feeling such pressure, quickly set about the task of preparing the feast. However, much to her chagrin and irritation, her sister Mary remained at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. The more Martha busied herself with preparation and the more Mary remained inactive, the more irritated Martha became. One can easily hear the frustration of Martha in her words, as she asks Jesus to rebuke Mary for her perceived laziness. However, to her surprise, Jesus does not rebuke Mary; instead, he rebukes Martha for focusing on the wrong thing.
However, the story is not about the proper way to entertain guests. The story serves to confront us with the priorities of our lives. We are either Mary or Martha. Martha is like many today who become driven by social pressures. More often than not, she represents us. We spend our lives in pursuit of the temporal and inconsequential. We focus on the activities, priorities, and possessions that provide temporal pleasures and recognition. But these things always prove fleeting. We spend our lives trying to climb the career ladder, only to find that once we get to the top, it still leaves us empty and void of any sense of fulfillment. We pursue being culturally relevant by purchasing popular brands, only to have those brands replaced by new lines. We strive to gain recognition for our accomplishments, only to find the praise of men empty and meaningless.
Christ confronts Martha and us by realigning our priorities with what is truly important and significant. What is truly significant is not the outward appearance but the inward transformation of the heart. What we were is not important, but who we are becoming. The temporal is just that: temporal. Only what is eternal is genuinely lasting. Mary received praise from Jesus because she focused on the eternal and transformative. She recognized that the next meal was not nearly as important as the words and teaching of Jesus that bring eternal transformation in our lives. Character and spiritual transformation are far more important than accomplishments and recognition. Are we becoming like Christ? Are we growing in our knowledge and obedience to God? It is our relationship with him that is eternal, and that is what we must pursue. Thus we are left with the question: Are we Martha or are we Mary? What is our focus in life?
Luke 6-10
Luke 10:41-42, “But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
We are easily distracted by the trivial and sacrifice the eternal for the present. How often are we driven and governed by what is temporal and insignificant? What we believe to be so important today is often discarded and rejected as inconsequential and worthless tomorrow. In our quest to follow the crowds, we spend countless amounts of money to purchase the latest fashions and popular brands, only to discard them in the Goodwill bin tomorrow because they are no longer in vogue.
In Luke 10:38-42, we find a common scene in a household. Jesus had entered the home of Mary and Martha. The honor of such a guest required the host to prepare a lavish feast; anything less would be a social faux pas. This, at least, was the thinking of Martha and her contemporaries. During this time, it was incumbent upon the host to honor an important guest with a lavish dinner and entertainment. Martha, feeling such pressure, quickly set about the task of preparing the feast. However, much to her chagrin and irritation, her sister Mary remained at the feet of Jesus, listening to his teaching. The more Martha busied herself with preparation and the more Mary remained inactive, the more irritated Martha became. One can easily hear the frustration of Martha in her words, as she asks Jesus to rebuke Mary for her perceived laziness. However, to her surprise, Jesus does not rebuke Mary; instead, he rebukes Martha for focusing on the wrong thing.
However, the story is not about the proper way to entertain guests. The story serves to confront us with the priorities of our lives. We are either Mary or Martha. Martha is like many today who become driven by social pressures. More often than not, she represents us. We spend our lives in pursuit of the temporal and inconsequential. We focus on the activities, priorities, and possessions that provide temporal pleasures and recognition. But these things always prove fleeting. We spend our lives trying to climb the career ladder, only to find that once we get to the top, it still leaves us empty and void of any sense of fulfillment. We pursue being culturally relevant by purchasing popular brands, only to have those brands replaced by new lines. We strive to gain recognition for our accomplishments, only to find the praise of men empty and meaningless.
Christ confronts Martha and us by realigning our priorities with what is truly important and significant. What is truly significant is not the outward appearance but the inward transformation of the heart. What we were is not important, but who we are becoming. The temporal is just that: temporal. Only what is eternal is genuinely lasting. Mary received praise from Jesus because she focused on the eternal and transformative. She recognized that the next meal was not nearly as important as the words and teaching of Jesus that bring eternal transformation in our lives. Character and spiritual transformation are far more important than accomplishments and recognition. Are we becoming like Christ? Are we growing in our knowledge and obedience to God? It is our relationship with him that is eternal, and that is what we must pursue. Thus we are left with the question: Are we Martha or are we Mary? What is our focus in life?
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