Time Well Spent
Have you ever thought to yourself and asked, “Where has all the time gone?” The older one becomes, the more magnitude the question holds. With that being said, I want us to consider this theme, TIME WELL SPENT! In the following Bible passage, we are shown two paths, but only one truly represents a pathway of doing things we need to do, doing that which is it was worthwhile, meaningful, useful, or beneficial— only one represents a pathway of time well spent.
The thought and theme of focus comes from Luke 10:38-42 (NIV), and it reads as follows:
“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.”
Here in Luke chapter 10:38-42, we see two options in how someone could choose to spend his or her time with Jesus, serving vs sitting, or should I say, working vs worshipping, both are good, yet one is BETTER. Both Mary and Martha recognize the need to serve, but Mary’s approach prioritizes the greater need which is placing oneself in a position to receive The Master’s WORDS. Martha’s priority was serving, while Mary’s priority was sitting. Neither of these two conducts are incorrect, but one fails to recognize that which is most essential.
Jesus wants to spend quality time with Martha just as He did with Mary, and guess what, JESUS desires to spend quality time with each of YOU! There will always be something that could merit your time and attention, and cause you to be distracted, pulled away or dragged away from the Lord’s teaching. However, like Mary, YOU must decide to lay aside the numerous tasks of the day and intentionally place yourself at the LORD’S feet to receive HIS instructions.
For Martha, the priority of listening to the words of the Lord was secondary to performing works for the Lord. Whereas for Mary, sitting at The Master’s feet receiving His teaching was TIME WELL SPENT. When we try to perform acts of service for the Lord without first posturing ourselves at His feet and receiving His teaching, our attitude, and our actions in serving become skewed. The lesson here is simple, someone once said, “Don’t get so involved in the work of the LORD that you fail to get involved with the LORD of the work!”
