Choose What is Better

Luke 10:38-42 (ESV)

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

Time tells us that Mary and Martha lived years and years before us, but our life experiences show us that they were not much different from us and were met with some of the same type of setbacks we face today. We live in a society that is unrelenting, constantly pulling our attention away from what matters most.  Countless chores and endless tasks hover over us, draining our energy and pressuring us to get things done NOW. We must be diligent to ask ourselves the question, “Am I choosing the good portion?”

I’m sure most of us can certainly identify with Martha. We have found ourselves in that place where our hands and our minds are so full that bringing ourselves to a place where we can settle down and focus our attention on what matters most can seem hard to achieve. Sometimes in our hearts we know that what we are spending our time doing is not really the most beneficial thing to do, but we do it anyway for a variety of reasons. Martha was a person, just like the rest of us, who wanted so badly to make a good impression by serving and making sure everything was in perfect order. Although at a glance it might appear that her intentions were good, Jesus who can see pass the surface and straight to the heart, knew that Martha was not making the right choice. He must have also known that her motives were not one hundred percent pure. Perhaps in those moments, her eagerness to be impressive outweighed a genuine interest to show love to her guest. As Jesus examined the hearts of these two women, He knew that Mary had indeed chosen what was better.

Mary seized a golden opportunity to reach out for what she knew would benefit her the most, not only in that moment, but also in the long run. It can be easy to choose things that seem to benefit us now, but it pays off to go the extra mile and consider what type of consequences our “now decisions” will have in the future. Temporary pleasures or easy to achieve quick fixes can often cause long term pain if we are not careful. Just because something feels good does not mean it is good for us.

We owe it to ourselves to examine anyone and anything that competes for our attention. We only get one life to live and we have to do our best to make the most of it. When we look at Mary and how she handled herself in this situation, it serves as a powerful reminder to us to make choices that will enhance our lives. Mary chose to sit at the Master’s feet, and in doing so she made a simple yet very wise decision. As she sat and talked with Jesus, I can only imagine the blessings that were being imparted to her.

When we sit at His feet, we can come as we are. There is no right or wrong way to come to the Lord, because He will always accept us as we are and understand us even when we struggle to understand ourselves. As you live each day, ask God for wisdom to help you to choose what is better, because you are always worthy of His very best. Remember this, no matter how things may look in your life at the present moment, His desire is for you to walk in victory and ultimately have what is good and meaningful so….

Choose What is Better.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Author: Dawn

The love of Jesus will never fail you. Thank you for visiting my blog. View all posts by Dawn