Christian Living

---

January 20, 2012 – Busy Servants and the Good Portion

40 But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me [to lend a hand and do her part along with me]! 41 But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; 42 There is need of only one or but a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion [that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her. – Luke 10:40-42 AMP

Jesus took on the role of a servant. He literally demonstrated this role to his disciples by washing their feet (John 13). He told the disciples that whoever wanted to be great among them had to be a servant (Matthew 20:26). Paul tells us that we are to serve one another (Galatians 5:13). I have even met Christians over the years who claimed to have a servant’s heart. But through today’s passage, there is more to servant hood than meets the eye.

Martha and Mary were sisters. They lived in Bethany, a small village just a few miles east of Jerusalem. When Jesus visited Bethany, Martha opened her home to Him. Then Jesus began to teach like He always did. Martha’s house was most likely packed with people and in all probability there were people standing in the windows wanting to see and hear what Jesus had to say. But Martha, the hospitable hostess, made it her duty to make sure her guests were comfortable. She was probably baking bread, serving drinks, and whatever else that would make her visitors feel at home. She was working her fingers to the bone.

Her sister Mary, on the other hand, had the best seat in the house. She was seated at Jesus’ feet, giving Him her undivided attention. Mary’s obvious neglect of the guests in the home made Martha angry. She went so far as to complain to Jesus about Mary’s laziness and told Him to tell Mary to get up and help her. But He didn’t. He told Martha that Mary had chosen the good portion. But Mary wasn’t serving. Do Jesus’ words here about Mary not physically serving the many guests make Him a hypocrite? I mean after all, He literally lived out the role of a servant for all of us. So how is it possible that He doesn’t tell Mary to get up and serve? It is possible because Martha, in all of her serving, had neglected Jesus. She became so busy serving everyone else that she lost sight of the One she should be serving. Do Martha’s actions sound familiar to you?

I have seen Christians with a self-proclaimed servant’s heart for years. They are always at church. They cut the grass, clean the church, teach Sunday school, and even keep nursery. They are always doing something for the church. The problem with these people doing so many things for God is that these things very often cause their relationship with God to wane. I know because it happened to me.

At one church our family used to attend I had my nose in a little bit of everything. Usher, choir, youth, church board, men’s ministry leader, and yes, even nursery. We even attended services three nights a week. I was being a good and busy servant just like Martha. And like Martha, the more I did, the more I neglected Jesus. Like the Ephesus church in Revelation Chapter Two, the church had replaced Jesus as my first love. And guess what? I was one miserable human being because I had neglected Him.

But all hope was not lost. In the end both Marlo and I resigned every ministry position and even took a few months off from church for a while to simply focus on Him and our family. We chose the good portion; the portion where Jesus comes first and has our best.

The people I have met with a self-proclaimed servant’s heart, including myself, have seemed many times to be miserable in their servitude. Like Martha, they are running around performing every task they can and going unappreciated the whole way. Are these people really serving God? I know I wasn’t. Like I said earlier, I was serving my church. But I was also serving my ego. I cared more about man’s approval than God’s approval, and my Martha-like attitude showed it. When you become a proverbial Martha like I did, it’s time to change your focus.

When you focus on God first and give Him your best, He will give you the heart of a servant. You’ll find yourself doing things you never thought you would do. You could be a Baptist and find yourself driving across town to the Catholic Church to help in their food kitchen that feeds a thousand homeless people a day. You may find yourself inside a prison on Sunday morning instead of church, visiting and sharing the Gospel with people who would otherwise never have a chance to hear it. You could even wake up one morning in the jungles of South America because you answered God’s call on your life to be a missionary. But guess what? You’ll never be miserable. You’ll never be weary. You’ll love every minute of your life. You’ll love it because you chose the good portion.

Are you a busy servant of God? Do you find your life resembling that of Martha? Do you find yourself involved in things at church sometimes and wonder how you ever got yourself into that situation? Stop all the busyness in your life and put Jesus first. He is the good portion. In the end He will turn you in to the servant you always thought you were.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE