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 it will not be taken away from her.”

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭(Jesus speaking)
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

This world tells us we need a lot of things to gain approval and the confidence of others: good looks, brains, hard work, wealth, eloquence, athletic ability, humor, being politically correct and “tolerant”, etc. — and this may be true. People’s approval is fickle in general. When we aim so low as to get man’s approval, we are always disappointed in the end.

But Jesus has a different valuation system in his Kingdom. Martha needed to learn this hard lesson. We do too. Jesus values us already, he created us. We do not have to earn his value, or perform tasks to please him. Instead, he values a heart that seeks after him and his ways, which are good. When in the presence of the Lord, listening is paramount! Seeking to understand his heart is more important than working hard. Don’t get me wrong, there is value and a time for hard work. But the point he is making here is they both need to know the truth of Jesus, but only Mary recognized it initially.

Am I still before the Lord, and do I listen to his truth? Or am I so busy trying to impress with busyness that I lose sight of the most important thing?

And Martha was comparing herself with her sister. She was judging her sister. She was feeling like her challenges existed because her sister chose to rest in listening to Jesus. I love the passage in Matthew which talks about worry. Worry typically leads us down the wrong path. It can paralyze the heart from acting and keep us in a state of frustration. So Jesus calls Martha out on her worry. How do I let Worry in and lose my perspective on what truly matters in life?

Lord, you call out our sin and provide a way back to right relationship with you. Thank you for calling out Martha back then and me now. You desire intimacy at a depth I sometimes am afraid to go to. Teach me to trust you and be more still in your presence and listen to your truth above all else!