"... One thing is needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" Luke 10:42.
Church people instinctively
spend a lot of time at church; not just per instruction, but more as if
salvation were obtained solely by activities within the walls. We show up
dressed to impress ready to do work spiritually and physically week after week
beginning with the illustrious task of generously giving everyone a smile and a
handshake. As long as we're inside church walls, our attitudes and behavior
couldn't be better. Some Christians show up just for the socialization which
our "Labor of Love"
provides and for no other reason.
But, when you deal with us
same "Super Saved"
people outside church, you're shocked at the attitudes, the bad language, the
impatience, the quick tempers, the bad habits and all the other sinful
behaviors being harbored behind closed doors like fugitives hiding from the
law. Church people lie; church people steal; church people gamble; church
people drink liquor; church people smoke weed; church people do everything that
"un-churched"
people do including casually having sex with other church people. My question
is, how can people who spend so much time at church act so ugly outside of
church walls?
The popular answer is to say
that many church people aren't really saved; which is true. But there is a
deeper, more firmly embedded issue affecting a far larger portion of church
patrons than does simple hypocrisy. If you've ever wondered why church people
act differently outside of church than inside (even if you've wondered this
about yourself) here is the answer...
It's because many church
people spend a disproportionate amount of time "tasking" at church.
We work on usher boards; we work in choirs; we work in the pulpit; we work in
children's ministries; we work in young adult ministries; we work in "Seasoned Saints"
ministries; we work in the social hall; we work in the vestibule; we work in
the parking lot... Even members who aren't attached to an auxiliary have to
work, "Raise Your Hands... ",
"Say Amen... ", "Touch Your Neighbor... ", "Touch Your
Neighbor Again... ", "Everybody On Your Feet... ", "Be
seated... ", "Everybody Rise... ", "Be seated... ",
"All Rise... ", "Remain Standing... ", "Now, follow
the directions of the usher to your right... “That’s a lot of work!
I'm not saying it's wrong to
work at church. In fact, most of the "tasks"
that are done are necessary for the "flow
of service". It's just that all of us fervent church workers
don't always manage our time at church properly. Church service is meant to be
a gathering of believers for the purpose of strengthening the saints and for
the worship of our Sovereign God. But instead of being strengthened and
worshipping, a lot of church people spend an awful lot of time disengaged,
distracted and busy working. There is a difference between being at church to
work and being at church to sit at the "Feet
of Jesus".
To emphasize this point, let’s
go to the Word...
In Luke chapter 10, we have a
very popular story about busyness. This story applies to so many church people
that even if you've just recently read this story, these four verses still
warrant yet another thorough look today.
In context, we see Jesus
traveling outside of Jerusalem conducting his normal behavior (healing the
sick, giving sight to the blind, setting people free, etc...). Jesus kept to
the outskirts of Jerusalem because it was not yet time for him to make His
triumphal entrance into the city. Later, he would enter Jerusalem, be betrayed
for a few coins, be arrested, scorned, assaulted and then murdered. But, on the
third day after the murder, he would be spotted in Jerusalem again raised from
the dead by our All Powerful God.
So, the story begins with
Jesus arriving in a village called Bethany, about 2 miles from Jerusalem (John
11:18). There, he had friends; Martha and her sister Mary who were awaiting his
arrival at their home. As the story goes, Martha was busy doing many things
preparing for Jesus to arrive.
We can't really fault Martha
for being so busy. Remember, Jesus was not traveling alone. Along with Jesus
and his disciples was always a "multitude".
Even a small crowd could easily have been upwards of 1,000 people. Imagine if
your pastor was coming to your house this afternoon and bringing with him the
entire church congregation. You'd probably want to straighten up a little too;
maybe put out some chairs, cook some food, etc.
When Jesus arrived,
apparently Martha shot into high-gear trying to finish the preparations. But
Mary, on the other hand, immediately sat down at Jesus' feet to hear what he
had to say. And that's when Martha quickly become irritated. The bible says
Martha was "cumbered"
or uncomfortable. We know Martha had even become angry by the tone of her
question to Jesus. She asked,
"... Do
you even care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to come help
me." Luke 10:40 NIV.
Martha's question was worded
in such a way that Jesus was expected to give a command for Mary to get up and
join Martha "in the
kitchen" so to speak; otherwise, he didn't "care" about her
strife. The dilemma was that there was much work left to be done, but the one
they had been preparing for had arrived. They ultimately had to decide whether
to complete the task at hand at all cost, or abandon their posts at the last
minute for Jesus. Mary basically dropped her broom; but Martha decided to
continue her noble work even though Jesus was in the room.
This is the problem with many
church people today. The demands of a full schedule and a packed house make it
difficult to stop serving and hear the Word; so many of us
choose not to. We push ourselves to accomplish more and more "for Christ" even if
it means missing bible study, missing the fellowship and being absent (even
while in the room) during a sermon or two.
Whenever you move by your own
driving force, there is rarely time to stop and hear the Word. There's not
enough time to study, no time to pray and never time to worship the God of
Creation. When you're driving yourself to complete tasks, you will easily
become too busy.
How do you know when you've
become too busy?
When you come to church early
and stay late, but stay so far behind the scenes that no one knows whether you
came at all, you’re too busy. When you're not studying the Word of God at all other than to
post an occasional verse on Facebook, you're too busy. When you can't pray more
than 2-minutes without worrying about how bad traffic must be getting while you’re
there praying, you're too busy. When you can't remember the last time you sat
through an entire sermon from YOUR pastor, you’re too busy.
Anyone who feels they must
continue working while the Word of God is being delivered, is
overly occupying themselves; too busy. Martha was overly occupied, too busy and
distracted by her work. She was moving by her own driving force to accomplish
everything she could possibly accomplish "for Jesus"; while ignoring Jesus. She
let her work take precedence over the fact that Jesus, the Savior of Mankind,
the Lover of her Soul, the Lamb of God, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth had
arrived; and... He was speaking!
When the Living Word of God arrives, it is time to
drop the broom and sit at the feet of Jesus to listen. There is nothing more
important at church or anywhere else than every Word that
proceeds from the mouth of our Lord. Work is necessary, but it must be
prioritized. And sometimes priorities have to be shuffled at the last minute if
suddenly there is a Word from the Lord.
Jesus said Martha was worried
about many things. She had troubled herself with peripheral concerns, but there
was only one thing of importance at that moment. Mary, however, acted
correctly,
"... one thing is
needful: and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from
her" Luke 10:42.
Jesus calls his Word the "good part". The
meal Martha prepared was nice, I'm sure; but her physical meal was only
temporary. Mary's priorities were in order. She abandon the work and positioned
herself to enjoy what would last her throughout her lifetime; the Word.
Many Christians show up at
church to "put time
in" as if there was a time-clock hanging on the double doors
that you punch when you go in. And when they're done, they feel better for
having "churched"
for 2-hours, but leave in the same condition to pick up the same problems we
left at the door 2-hours before. Unless there is a true encounter with the Word, everything
will remain the same.
Just look at your church...
When the Word is preached, how many church
people are doing something unrelated to the sermon such as balancing their
checkbook or surfing Facebook on their iPhone? How many are outside of the sanctuary
in the back of the church, in the kitchen preparing food or in the parking lot
on the phone? How many are out front talking to someone who didn't even come to
church that day? And where in the world do musicians go whenever a pastor
starts a sermon???
Bottom line: When a Word from God is in the building,
the work must stop. It's time for every person to open their bible (or bible
app) and get the highlighter ready. Get your water and go to the bathroom while
the choir is singing; so that when the Word of God arrives, you'll be positioned
to partake of the one thing that is needful. The church service cannot change
your life, but Jesus Christ can. Jesus is the living Word; the needful thing; so don't
allow him to be taken from you by distractions or by being too busy to listen.
The next time you attend
church, please don't miss the "good
part"! Once church folks start spending more time at the
"Feet of Jesus",
attitudes will change; habits will change; total behaviors will change. We will
begin to see Christians acting just as pristine outside of church as they do
inside. EVERYONE EVERYWHERE will get a handshake and a smile. EVERYONE
EVERYWHERE will see Christians perform as the new creatures God wants us to be.
And we'll be anxious to invite even more people to join us at the "Feet of Jesus" so that he can change their
life the way he changed ours!
