Marriage.
Till death do we part. Yeah, it’s like that, a promise made that we vow never to undo. It’s ours forever.
What are we married to? No, not our spouse, but all the other stuff? What are we so entwined with that we can’t unlink ourselves, that it’s a part of our personality, our self-identity, the very fabric of who we are?
Not getting the picture, yet? How about our drive to be a neat-nick, even fighting with our family over small things left disorganized? Or our favorite parking space at work? If someone else takes it, our day is ruined.
Till death do we part. Ask us to give up pulling out our Christmas decorations in October? Not on your life, bud! That’s our right. Move over and let us through. We’ve got a tree to assemble.
We can’t unlink ourselves from what we are, can we?
Luke 10:38-42 tells the story of Mary and Martha. Mary sits at Jesus’ feet in total adoration. She’s married to the Master. Nothing else matters to her. Verse 40, however, reveals Martha’s marriage vows:
“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.’ ”
Martha was married to something most of us consider essential to successful living: taking care of business. She’s the one on time at her job every day earning a paycheck; getting the kid’s lunches ready for school; changing the sheets; washing the towels; running the vacuum cleaner.
How could Martha’s drive to get things done be less than ideal? How could we not want to be like Martha?
Jesus gives Martha an answer to her question that we should all pay close attention to. He doesn’t dismiss her concerns. He knows the dishes have to be done, the bills have to be paid, and our children must get to school on time. However, read his words in Verse 42:
“But one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion…”
What’s Jesus telling us today? We can let our lives get so busy that we forget what our Lord is really all about. Slow down. Unhitch. Make time for family, friends, loving others, and most of all, getting our groove on with Jesus. It’s the necessary thing, the one that can justify letting all the rest slide every now and then.
When a successful life gets in the way of successfully living for Christ, then maybe our concept of success needs to be reevaluated.
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