I am in a battle right now with my inner Martha. She is fighting for my attention at every turn.  “Get busy,” she says. “He is not worth so much attention when other things need to get done.”

Many people confuse the Mary and Martha story as some kind of contrast between two types of believers in the church. There are Marys (those called to sit at His feet), and there are Marthas (those called to serve in Kingdom works). I don’t think this is true at all. Martha is not to serve as an example to us of how to work well. In the story, Martha is far away and disconnected from the heart of Jesus, when we are all called to be near to Him.

Neither is Mary to serve as an example of some kind of “sanctified laziness.” All believers are called to serve the kingdom with joy. Rather, I think we have the story of these two sisters as an example of the kinds of mind sets we will need to overcome in order to get before Jesus with any kind of regularity. We will have to press hard through the “Martha” distractions in order to get to the “Mary” place before Jesus. It is a battle, and a fierce one at that.

So here I am, right in the thick of it. I feel the need to “get busy,” not because there is much work to be done (there is always much work to be done), but because I am looking for a distraction. If I can get busy with doing something, I can give my thoughts and attentions to that, and I won’t have to deal with the barrenness of my heart in prayer before God.

I can be successful and accomplish much, and I won’t have to embrace my weakness. I will probably be honored by man (we always praise Marthas). Perhaps I will be overlooked and mistreated less if I am more “productive.” Yes, this will secure me a place of safety – being busy and productive and useful.

Ah, but the beautiful rebuke of Jesus rings so clear:

“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