Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Busyness”
Our Bible verse for today: “But Martha was distracted by her many tasks …” Luke 10:40 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Don’t give-in to tyranny.”
This morning in our discussion about “busyness” I want to shift our focus away from the question of whether or not we’re too busy – we already know we are. I’m also not going to talk about the damage done to us and to those close to us as a result of us being too busy – that point has already been made. Instead I would like us to think about why we tend to get too busy.
A few days ago I wrote about the phenomena the military calls “mission creep”. Mission creep happens when you begin with a clear objective in mind but as you’re pursuing that objective other issues pop up which appear important to you, and so you add them into your mission. But if that keeps happening, over time you will have added so many new pieces to your original objective that you end up distracted, off track, and usually overwhelmed. Once that happens, you need to shift your focus back to your original mission and cut out much of what got added in as you went along.
In the story of Mary and Martha we find another reason we get too busy. It’s known as “The tyranny of the urgent”. It’s when some seemingly “urgent” thing takes on the appearance of being important simply because it seems urgent. A ringing telephone is a good example. Because it is making noise and therefore demanding your attention, it could seem important. But unless that call is an emergency, it might not be more important than whatever else you’re dealing with in that moment. But even still, because the phone is ringing you will be strongly tempted to stop the important thing you’re doing and give the phone the attention it demands. That’s the tyranny of the urgent.
In our story in Luke chapter ten Martha succumbed to the tyranny of the urgent. Her friend Jesus had stopped by for a visit and Martha decided that she needed to fix Him a meal. Now please note that Jesus didn’t request a meal, and there’s no indication that He was even hungry. All he wanted was spend some time with His friends. But Martha decided for herself that she needed to prepare a meal for Him. But in the process she was missing out on the good conversation and the good times with Jesus. And she resented it. And she became flustered. And then she became angry. And then she mouthed-off.
In response Jesus gently pointed out to her that she had allowed herself to get all wrapped up doing things that really weren’t that important, and as a result she was missing out on that which really was important. She was being driven by, being tyrannized by, that which seemed urgent but which really wasn’t.
You and I do this all the time, and we end up a lot like Martha. Years ago there was a great little book written by Joanna Weaver entitled “Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.” I love this book! It’s all about those of us who really want to just sit quietly with Jesus, but we simply can’t resist the perceived need to be in the kitchen banging pots and pans. Because after all, there are things that need our attention, right?
Let me ask you: “Are you Mary or Martha?” “Is your life characterized by the tyranny of the urgent and, how’s that working for you?” Maybe it’s time to just let that telephone ring; maybe you should just order pizza instead of cooking a meal; maybe some things aren’t really as important as you think they are.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 