Doing vs. Being
Think for a minute of the last big event you planned. Maybe it was your daughter’s wedding or a surprise birthday party for your husband or wife. How about after more than a year of hosting no dinner parties, you finally have one on the calendar for later this month, and you can’t wait to try out your new smoker. Or you might already be thinking about the annual Labor Day barbeque and cornhole tournament you hold every year, the one that keeps getting bigger and better every year. Whatever the big event is, you most likely don’t just wing, instead, you put a lot of planning into it.
We often put so much time and effort into planning the big event that we often fail to take time to enjoy it. Not only do you spend lots of time and effort in the preparations but once the guests arrive you want to make the event as fun and relaxing so you end up waiting on everyone, and you never really get to sit and converse with your guests. Only after everyone has left do you find out from your spouse that your niece got engaged and that the guy down the street has cancer. Taking care of our guests is not a bad thing, just sometimes it causes us to not be able to savor the enjoyment of spending time with those whom we care about.
We often do the same thing with Jesus. We are so busy “doing” for Jesus that we fail to simply “be” with Jesus. There is a story in the Bible that you might be familiar with. It is found in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus stops by the house of his friends, sisters Mary and Martha. The text tells us that Martha was distracted by all the preparations that needed to be made while Mary simply sat on the couch and listened to Jesus. When Martha showed some displeasure with her sister for not helping with the work, Jesus gave her an answer that likely surprised her.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few are needed – or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.” (Lk 10:41-42)
What is Jesus saying? He was giving Mary and Martha, and is giving us today, a lesson on priorities. Neither sister was necessarily wrong in her response. Jesus is not teaching the value of a contemplative life compared to a life of action, but instead He is teaching that serving Him and those around us should not fill our lives to the extent that we fail to spend time with Him. We cannot let our “doing” get in the way of our “being.” Or put another way: before we can “do” the work of God the Father, we need to first “be” energized by God’s Spirit through an encounter with God’s Son.
We must learn to give our Lord and His Word priority, even over loving service. To fellowship with Jesus, we might have to leave some things undone, even good and worthy things. Jesus is more interested in our undivided hearts than He is in our big acts of sacrifice.
So, today, I ask, are you more busy doing for Jesus than you are being with Jesus?