Time Well Spent

Sibling discontent arose as Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha. Martha was busy preparing food for a meal.

Even today, food preparation can be involved and time-consuming. Without the benefit of modern, labor-saving devices, Martha’s task was far less simple than it would be for us. As she prepared the food, Martha became increasingly frustrated that her sister, Mary, was not giving her any help. Instead, Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him teach. While food preparation methods were different in ancient times, attitudes between siblings were evidently not too far removed from what they are today. Martha complained to Jesus about Mary’s failure to help her, and she urged Jesus to use His influence to rectify the situation. Jesus’ reply was interesting.

He said, “One thing is needed.” Jesus wasn’t advocating laziness or unhelpfulness, but He was pointing out that while there are many good things that need to be done, the most important thing of all is to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear the sound of His voice. People can be too busy to take time with Jesus.

It isn’t only the “bad” things that can get in the way of a relationship with God. Many a worker in Christ’s cause has lost their way spiritually because they were too busy doing God’s work to pause and listen to God’s voice.

Families suffer because the pastor or the church elder is giving so much time to good things that there isn’t time left over for the best things.

Personal devotional time can disappear because there are so many other “good” things that need to be done. Don’t fall into that trap.

As busy as He was, Jesus made time to spend with His Father, and He urged the disciples to “come aside … and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).

While there are many good things that must be done, time spent with Jesus is the most valuable time you can spend.