The Homemaker

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."  Luke 10:41-42

Scripture:  Luke 10:38-42

I can describe our life right now in one word:  busy.  We now have two children, two cats, and two full-time jobs.  One of us commutes over an hour a day on top of working fifty hours a week, and the other can work as early as 6:45 am and as late as 10 pm depending on the week or day.  Not to mention we have a house and two cars that need to be maintained.  Then there is the desire to be involved with our church, exercise, and volunteer.  Sound familiar to you?

Our passage today is all about this concept of busyness.  Martha was homemaker who lived with her sister, Mary.  The two were faithful believers in Jesus and His ministry, but that may be where their similarities end.  Martha seems to be your typical Type A personality; she is constantly trying to keep her house in perfect order, to be the perfect hostest, and to keep those around her in line.  Mary, on the other hand, is your Type B personality.  She is much more laid back, takes in her surroundings, and stops to soak in each and every word before taking action.

There is nothing inherently wrong with either personality type, but Martha let her desire for perfection skew her perspective.  She was having her own encounter with Christ, yet she let her busy work prevent her from experiencing His love and wisdom.  Not only did she pass on the opportunity to talk to God to do chores, but she also berated her sister for not helping.  Jesus quietly corrected Martha's thinking by praising Mary for her willingness to choose the freedom of dwelling in His presence over the chains of busyness that tied Martha down.

Adult Reflections:

• How would you describe your current life situation?  Do you find yourself being held down by the "chains of busyness?"
• What is something you can immediately eliminate from your life to decrease your busyness level?
• Does your personality type align more with Martha or Mary?  How does this effect your spiritual life?
• Are you passing on opportunities to dwell in God's presence?

Teenage Reflections:

• Remind your child that Jesus is not telling us that chores should always be ignored!  :)
• Talk about your child's current schedule with them.  Do they feel overwhelmed with all that has to be accomplished?
• Honestly discuss priorities.  Are you enabling your child to be too busy?  Discuss what can be eliminated from their schedule to make more time for God.
• Do you relate better to Mary or Martha?  How high on your priority list is a relationship with God?

Elementary School Reflection:

• Ask your child to describe what it means to be busy.  Do they ever feel like their schedule is too busy?
• What are some of your child's favorite and least favorite things to do.  Are any items on the "least favorite" list that can be removed from their schedule for more free time?
• Have your child describe what Jesus thought about Martha's behavior compared to Mary's behavior.  Who do they think was acting in the best way?
• Remind your child that sometimes we need to work and sometimes we need to rest.

Preschool Reflections:

• This concept may be a hard for child of this age to understand.
• Instead of talking about being busy, talk about how there are certain times to do certain things.  We need to play sometimes, eat sometimes, and nap sometimes.
• Lead by example.  Practice taking time out to rest and play with your child at unexpected moments over the next few days.