Priorities

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.” (Luke 10:41-42)

The four gospels found in the New Testament are replete with words spoken by the lips of our Lord Jesus. Like myriad others, I find Him to bear us many a challenging truth. As Jesus is himself the visible, living expression of The Truth, we do well to heed what he says. This taking heed requires more of us than a mere willingness to listen. With our Lord, it is always a matter of receiving and responding, of hearing and obeying. 

Godliness in men and women is an affair of constant practice. We learn from the Master and he gives us ample occasion to put what we are learning to the test. Likely, we find ourselves stumbling through the divine lesson. No matter.  There is plenty more practice afoot! And let us not think that when we have “gotten it right” at last, such shall serve to be the end of it. Practice is needed not only to learn, but to retain, and perfect.

The concert pianist must give himself over to untold hours of practice, not only to learn the piece to begin with, but to play without flaw when the time to perform draws neigh. Playing well, he must assign himself continued practice of the same piece if, perchance, he is to please other audiences as he did the first.  

Jesus seeks to make us fit not only for this present age but for the one to come. We must practice here so that we might be made suitable for our true and lasting home.  It is in this context that we can, as admonished by James, the Lord’s brother, consider it all joy when we face the trials of life. As was true with Christ, the way after Jesus lies through the thorns.

On the topic of personal priorities we do not find our Lord silent. He plainly says that we are to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.” As if anticipating our objections as to the impact such a course of action might have on our own well-being Jesus adds, “and all these things [the material necessities] shall be added to you.” Both before and after these verses just referenced, Jesus gives the same encouragement, “Do not be anxious.”  (Matthew 6:31-34)

It is as if he were telling us, “Look, you ought not to have the same priorities in life as those who don’t know God.  Such people are caught up in a constant struggle to acquire and pile up the material trappings of the so-called good life. They are constantly worrying about their appetites, wardrobes, homes and all that goes along with feeling financially and materially secure. In fact, they make the pursuit of this world’s goods and comforts their number one priority! You who truly believe ought to demonstrate a different passion. For you, the affairs of the kingdom of God and his glory should show themselves as having first place in your lives by the choices you make each day. Your Father in heaven knows what you need to sustain you. Trust him to provide as you give his will unrivaled priority in your life. The God who loves you is your real security. You will know your own heart’s treasure by your priorities.

As we are prone to make judgments based on the appearance of things, we need to be careful in determining our own and our neighbors’ priorities based solely upon what actions are being done. Our poor habit is to look always on the outside. God looks at the heart where nests the motives behind the actions — always of more concern to the Lord than the actions themselves. One person can be engaged in a seemingly pious act and another in what would look mundane and without profit to God’s kingdom.  

Consider the case of two men: one kneels at an altar in prayer, the other tosses feed to his chickens. If we were able to see their hearts, however, we might behold the prayer of the first as similar in fashion to that of the self-righteous Pharisee who thanked God he was not like other sinful men. On the other hand, we might then behold the latter, a farmer faithfully feeding his fowl who, mindful always of the blessings of God towards him, sees to it that the widow down the road never lacks eggs with which to feed her children each morning. 

Faithfulness to God must always mean obedience to what he asks us to do, the smallest requests being full partners with the seemingly larger, more important ones.  For God wastes not, and his ways so very different and higher than our own we often fail to rightly judge the relative “importance” of his requests!

So then, it is our right worship to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, obeying our Father in heaven that we might glorify his name on earth amongst all creatures here below. Seeking first the Kingdom and his righteousness is more the outcome of being than of doing: it is first and foremost a matter of the willing, child-like and obedient heart.

Martha & Mary

In the latter part of the tenth chapter of the gospel of Luke we find a telling example of our Lord’s assessment of the priorities of two women. Martha and Mary are sisters in a town not far from Jerusalem. By name, Bethany. Jesus has come into the town having been previously engaged in conversation with a man who wished to put Jesus to the test and had asked him what it was that men needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus, as was so much his habit, had answered the lawyer’s question with one of his own, “What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?” (Luke 10:26)  Although the man’s answer was legally sound, he was not living in his daily life the essential truth of the answer he gave and, not surprisingly, the presence of the incarnate God before him must have tugged at his conscience for he sensed his lack and sought a way of escape before the righteousness of Christ, to which Jesus responded with the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan. It was from this familiar setting of teaching others that Jesus comes into Bethany.

We are told that it was Martha who welcomed Jesus into her home. Lazarus was her brother and Mary her sister, but it is Martha who extends the invitation. How precious is such hospitality! As he went about the work of the Father, the only roof often found above his head was that which belonged to someone else. Yet his entrance into the homes of the people was only by invitation. The Creator of them all entered into their intimate surroundings by no forcefulness of his own. Martha welcomes him, and he responds by entering in.

Once inside, it takes little time for thirsting souls to crowd about the Teacher.  After all, he alone has words of Life. We are not supplied with the number of persons within the house but it is not unlikely that it was as many as the house could embrace. Where Jesus was teaching there was usually a crowd!

Mary nestles at the Master’s feet.  

It seems to me a telling position.  One might get nearer being directly on his left or right, but there would be a boldness to such a posture. What better position of humility, submission, nearness and adoration could there have been than at Jesus’ feet? Yet Mary was a woman and a member of the host household. Was it not expected of her to have been engaged in the preparations needful to attend such an honored guest? Was there not a meal to be prepared and served? Was it not rude to be thinking of one’s own desires when there was the welfare of the guest to be considered? Certainly, her sister Martha thought so!

We lack full details and cannot say for sure if Martha’s preparations are solely of her own energies or if she has help from others. What we do know is that no help comes her way from her own sister. 

What might have crossed her mind as she stole glances at Mary seated at the feet of Jesus as she went about hard at work? Did she envy her? Or did she rather think of herself as doing right while Mary chose neglect. After all, she was the one engaged in ministry, was she not? Did she perhaps feel her own priorities in line with serving God while believing Mary’s askew? I would think so given what Martha did next.

“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.”

How confident Martha must have been of her own position to have so boldly confronted Jesus! Surely she must have reckoned his sympathies to coincide with her own. Perhaps she had earlier tried to gain Mary’s attention or otherwise persuade her to rise from her comfortable position at the Lord’s feet and share with her the burden of the work to be done. We don’t know. What we do witness is Martha’s interruption of the Lord’s words of life going out to nourish those about him. Martha has asked of Jesus a judgment of what ought to be, and in so asking has established her own measure of determination.

Let us listen to her words again. “Lord, do you not care …?”  Did not Jesus notice all the work, the effort that she was putting into serving him? If he did, why would he allow her sister Mary to remain at his feet? Perhaps the Master had not noticed, had perchance been too distracted with his teaching to seize upon the difference between hers and Mary’s priorities. Now that Martha had brought the matter to his attention, Jesus would surely rebuke Mary for her mistaken priorities and set things to right.

I wonder a great deal what Mary’s thoughts were during this time. A charge had been made against her in front of them all! Was she uncomfortable?  Embarrassed?  Angry towards Martha for this potentially humiliating confrontation? What would be the reaction of the One at whose very feet she reposed?  Whose every word was a joy to her soul? Was there truly something of greater importance in life than to worship at his feet?  To be in his presence with a heart so full to overflowing with love it must nearly burst?

Mary said nothing.

There are times when others levy a charge against us concerning our character or motives that brings discomfort and sorrow. At such times, it is likely for us to hastily rise to our own defense. Wisely, Mary, who sits in the very presence of the incarnate God, waits upon him in silence. Likely, all are now silent, waiting for Jesus’ response.

Before attending to Christ’s reply, it might be good for us to get as sound a hold of what the text can offer us of Martha’s busy-ness as we may. 

I find two words of particular interest. We are informed that she was distracted with all her preparations. The Greek word rendered “distracted” gives the illustration of dragging something around, whereas “preparations” comes from the word diakonia, meaning service or ministry. Martha was dragging about the weight of her supposed ministry!  Instead of joy, we find her frustrated and heavy of heart.  Beyond this, she even believes herself to be so involved in doing what is right and proper she is confident Jesus will rebuke her sister so that Mary’s mistaken priorities will be made manifest to all.

Have we not at sundry times ourselves been like Martha, weighted down with well-intentioned yet self-imposed service to the Lord that he, himself has not put upon our shoulders?

Jesus speaks her name. Not once but twice. “Martha, Martha.”  The message Jesus is about to give is so imperative he rivets her attention to himself by twice speaking her name. “You are worried and bothered about so many things; but a few things are necessary, really one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Jesus had shown them the Father once more.  

In all the distractions of life here in this world, amongst the cares that so easily beset us, there are but a few necessities and but one great need. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:7-8) 

Truly, our genuine necessities are few. But what is the “one” essential, the grand need of all of which Jesus spoke? Is it not our great need for Himself? 

Mary was deeply aware of the greatest priority in all of life as she sat at the feet of the God-man listening to his words. The desperate need to be in the presence of God, seeking first his Kingdom and his righteousness.

© M.D.  Kimball, 1994, 2023  (This writing may be freely copied in its entirety without prior permission from the author.)