The Art of Not Over Doing It

We all give our time and energy to something/someone in our day-to-day existence. What if we began giving that precious time and energy back to God? I have been silent on this topic for a long time, struggling to know how to write about it. Perhaps it is because I am in the thick of learning about it, and oh how hard it is to examine the here and now of my heart’s vital signs. It can be painful, to prod and poke at the raw and sore part of my being. But how else will I learn if I’m not willing to endure some pain from time to time?

I am referring to the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). You know, the one where Jesus, of all people, comes to their home for dinner. Hold right there! My heart literally just stopped beating for a moment. I was imagining Jesus stopping by for tea, in the physical form and panic just set in! You are right, I would definitely be a Martha type! Scurrying around, making sure everything was picked up and orderly, neat and tidy, spick and span. That is just what Martha did when Jesus came to have dinner in her home. From the moment he stepped foot inside, she busied herself in service. She did not sit down once to listen and gaze at Jesus. It says, she “was distracted with much serving”. Not only was she constantly working, but she got extremely annoyed at her sister who was fixating on Jesus. She marches up to Jesus and exclaims, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve you alone? Tell her to help me!” At this point, Martha was wearing herself thin, because she thought that was what Jesus wanted from her. But Jesus responds to her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her”. Wait, so this is news to me! Jesus doesn’t want us running around every which way busying ourselves with service? No, He would rather us to sit in His presence and learn from His teaching.

We aren’t honoring God with our busyness; I would go as far to say that at times we our busyness is sin. For when we are too busy, we are reverting our attention to other things than what truly matters - Jesus. It is a good disguise too! It can easily be seen as a “service to Jesus”, but nothing fools the One who knows every heart so intimately. When we are leaving no time to sit in His presence, believe me, it won't get past Him. I have no idea how I began to cultivate this type of nature - all regimented and routine. It gives no room for the spontaneity that the Holy Spirit so desires to cultivate in our lives. I’m afraid that if we have our own agenda all planned out, where will there be room for God’s will in our lives?

Not only has God been the victim of my horrible crime, but my husband as well. It began in my marriage as desiring to be the best wife I could. (Which is a wonderful ambition that all married woman should desire!) However let me explain how I approached it all wrong. I was so excited at my go at perfecting the art of a “godly wife”. Excitedly I gathered all my books around me, all my reading geared towards becoming the “Proverbs 31 wife”. Little did I know that this would turn into an obsession that would lead me down the opposite path. I set myself up for failure when I proclaimed in my heart that I would perfect this role as wife. First of all, it is impossible to be perfect! And second of all it turns out that my husband would rather spend time with me than watch as I clean the house constantly. Many nights he would come home from work and everything would be in order, however I would still be scurring around accomplishing task after task to until I was completely exhausted. I lost focus of what truly mattered! Instead of simply enjoying the presence of my husband, like Mary who was sitting so attentively at Jesus’ feet, I was like Martha, always busy, and believing that is what he wanted from me! But my husband just was craving my undivided attention. And God wants the same from me - my FULL ATTENTION.

This is not the kind of lesson you learn in a day or two. I know I will be fighting busyness for the rest of my life, and trying to learn the art of "not-over-doing-it". I hope today you and I both can find the time and energy to sit at Jesus' feet and learn from Him. That is, after all, what He really wants from us!