And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’ Luke 10:41-42
While reading some comments on the book of Romans recently, a quote hit me directly between the eyes regarding how many things we busy ourselves with to the detriment of our one true purpose in life. In his section on Paul’s greetings to the Romans, Jim McGuiggan penned some strong words contrasting Paul’s sense of his duty to the gospel and that of the majority of Christian’s today. The part that struck me so sharply read, “Paul had definite aims; he had specific goals. I think we are afflicted with a generation of aimless drifters. We’re doing a lot but very little in the direction of specific goals. Paul had one passion and that was to live to proclaim by word and way the Gospel of God. Perhaps that’s why he got so much done and why we get so little done.” Ouch is the best I could come up with in reply.
I fear we American Christians (starting with the one writing this) have allowed our earthly advantages to become spiritual snares in our service to the Lord. Worst of all, we are following in the footsteps of our parents and grandparents in working feverishly to make life even more materially advantageous for our children, no doubt creating an even greater hindrance to their spiritual maturity. We do not have to be willfully negligent to be guilty of negligence pertaining to our primary role on this earth.
The example of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42 shows how easily the customs of our times can ensnare us. When Jesus and company arrived at Martha’s house, certain cultural expectations set Martha in motion (10:40). She was only doing what was customary for a host to do, serving her guests. It was not in any way wrong for her to do so, and Jesus was not calling her out for doing a wrong thing in serving. However, when she complained to Jesus because her sister left her to serve alone, He redirected her to something more important than the customs with which she was said to be “distracted.”
The word translated “distracted” is interesting and illuminating. It only occurs here in the New Testament, but in other writings of the time it meant “to be pulled away from a reference point, to have one’s attention directed from one thing to another, become or be distracted, quite busy, overburdened” (BDAG). Mary revealed to us the reference point away from which Martha’s genuine, yet earthbound cares had drawn her as she, “…sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word” (10:39). Mary was not being selfish or lazy, but she set the world aside to hear Jesus. There was a place for cooking, serving, cleaning, etc., but hearing Jesus reveal His will took precedence.
This all reminds me of a post I saw on September 10, 2025, reminding people to prepare for the right things. It read, “On this night, September 10, 2001, 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights, 2,606 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning, 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their next shift, 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for morning patrol, 8 paramedics went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift of saving lives, and 1 K9 went to bed a good boy. None of them saw past 10:00 AM the next morning, September 11, 2001. In the blink of an eye, their lives were cut short.”
What are you and I preparing for as we navigate the days of our lives? When we go to bed tonight, if the Lord wills we should make it there again, what are we resting up to do in the morning? Will we choose the “good part” as Mary, or will we be too consumed with earthly worries? May we remember every day, there is still only one thing that is truly needed.