By Tanya Jolliffe
As a registered dietitian and certified integrative mental health professional, I help people develop a healthier relationship with food. In many conversations with my clients, the focus shifts to decision-making and the power of choices. The dictionary defines choice as the act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. Sometimes, a choice is obvious. Sometimes, it is between two good things. Other times, it is between two less desirable options. Sometimes, people can’t see their choices because they believe the situation is out of their control. Recently, I have wondered if Martha felt the same way.
“As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better and will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42 NIV).
For most of my adult life, I have resonated with Martha. I feel close enough to Jesus to complain to him. As I served in various church leadership roles over the years, I felt like I had to get the work done if people were going to have the opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet. I was distracted during my walk because I didn’t understand the one thing Mary did.
Over the last few years, God has allowed me to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so I can see this story in a different light. This story isn’t about Martha being the doer and Mary being the listener, as I have always seen. Instead, I now see it as a story about our choices as followers of Jesus.
Both of these ladies were in Jesus’ presence. However, Martha was distracted by all that she perceived had to be done while keeping score of who did what. The scripture doesn’t say Mary didn’t help Martha with the preparations while Jesus was on his way. However, it does tell us that once Jesus arrived, Mary focused her time and attention on listening and learning.
Didn’t Martha have the same opportunity to choose to take a break to listen and learn, too? Perhaps she didn’t believe she had a choice. Maybe she saw that there was work to be done, and someone had to do it.
I’ve been there and thought those same things, yet there was a choice to be made. Was she unable to see the choice? When Jesus pointed out that “few things are needed,” did she continue to focus on her to-do list? Her continued focus on that list might have caused her to remain worried and upset and even more blind to the choice before her.
Many times, this same thing happens to many of us. We don’t believe we have a choice. We believe there is no time to sit and study the Word and be in God’s presence. We believe we cannot fit Bible study groups or one-on-one discipleship opportunities into our schedule. We get frustrated and upset that others are making different life priorities, giving them time and opportunity to sit, listen, and learn from the master, and our tension, comparison, and complaining continue to grow.
When we go back to the story in Luke, Jesus teaches a vital lesson to Martha and us. “Mary has chosen what is better.” A choice. A lifestyle behavior plan that includes prioritizing listening and learning to grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. He doesn’t say that work isn’t essential or that there aren’t things that have to be done, but he points out the value of choosing to slow down and making him a priority. Only because of my time at his feet could I see this familiar story in a new light. Thank goodness I made that choice.
How can you make different choices to free up time as you enter a new year? How can you make time in Jesus’ presence a better choice that can’t be taken from you? There is a cognitive choice to be made to stand up against a reactionary response to an ever-present to-do list. Jesus wanted Martha to learn that the list will wait and she might even see it differently after sitting at his feet for a while. Perhaps he is calling you to do the same.
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