SMELLING THE COFFEE AND THE ROSES & CHOOSING THE ONE THING NECESSARY

What were you doing three months ago? It is almost hard to imagine what our lives were like before the world shut down. We live in a supersonic postmodern world where we have become used to instant gratification in almost every area of life. We can order food and have it while we wait in a drive-up line; we can have our packages delivered overnight; we can access information by the touch of a button or even by saying, “Hey Google!” As a result, we find ourselves being more hurried through life than our ancestors could ever have imagined. Got Questions.org says: We are overworked, overstressed, and spiritually undernourished. Our culture promotes “bigger and better” and subtly challenges us to keep up. Whew! Who made these rules anyway? Satan loves to keep us running in circles trying to beat the clock. If he can distract us, he can minimize our usefulness to the Kingdom of God. Satan may be the Prince of Darkness, but he is also the Duke of Distraction.

We might remember that amid the hustle and bustle of our day-to-day lives before Covid-19, we did not always wake up and smell the coffee or stop to smell the roses! We see Facebook posts of Boomers who long for the days when porch sitting was a priority. You know…sit long, talk much…where wasted time is time well wasted.

What images do hustle and bustle bring to your mind? Hustle comes from a word meaning to shake. The meaning changed in 1812 to hurry or move quickly. The word bustle comes from a word that originally meant to act vigorously or to thrash about. The bustle of a woman’s gown was a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women’s dresses in the mid-to-late 19^th century. These bustles were worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. Today, women have bustles added to the designs of their wedding gowns to help raise the train of the dress. According to one website, this makes it easier for you to mingle and dance without tripping or stepping on your train!

When we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of normal everyday life, just like any full-on aerobic effort, it is hard to catch our breath. Why do we allow ourselves and sometimes even thrive in the excitement of a busy, noisy, and energetic pace of life that runs us ragged? Sometimes it makes us feel full of purpose. But the argument could be made that the same description applies to amusement parks. Could it be that we are trying to tune out something else? Could it be that the hustle and bustle of our lives is a welcomed distraction from being forced to think deeply about things that really matter?

Covid-19, for most of us, has stopped the roller coaster of life for a moment. It has forced us to wake up and smell the coffee and the roses. To wake up and smell the coffee is to realize the truth about one’s situation or to become aware of what is really happening around us. Stopping to smell the roses is an expression I often use when I want to remind myself that I need to live my life with a deeper appreciation of my blessings. It reminds us to slow down and notice the little things that make our lives rich and full, and to appreciate the moment so it does not pass us by unnoticed. Prison forced me to wake up and smell the coffee and to stop and smell the roses even while many around me were bustling around me devoting themselves to their hustle of choice.

“Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17) We need to make the most of our time, but that does not mean getting run over by the hustle and bustle of life. We see this principle clearly depicted for us in the contrasted lives of two sisters, Mary, and Martha.

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Mary, Martha, and their brother, Lazarus, lived in the town of Bethany. Bethany was located only two miles east of the temple in Jerusalem. We know from John 11 that it was this same Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment wiping His feet with her hair and the same Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. These three were dear friends of Jesus; and Scripture tells us that He loved them. I think it is interesting that John 11:5 states it this way: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. The sisters together sent word to Jesus when their brother Lazarus was sick. Just like the scene in Luke 10 above, when Martha heard that Jesus was coming she was the sister that went out to meet Him. Mary stayed at the house. In the preceding verses of Luke 10, a lawyer challenges Jesus by testing Him with a question. Here, Martha receives or welcomes Him. Do I challenge Jesus by putting Him to the test, or do I welcome Him? The challenge to Jesus was who was a neighbor to the Good Samaritan. In the story of Mary and Martha, Jesus shows us what it looks like to love God.

We want to think that Martha is having a lapse in her normal hospitality routine due to the pressures of the moment. I am like Martha in these situations almost 100 percent of the time!Normally, Martha is the take-charge woman who has so committed the rules of etiquette and hospitality to her understanding, that it appears she flawlessly and effortlessly receives people into her home with utmost grace. (Here, we see what often goes on behind the scenes.) I have always considered myself more a “Mary”, but I long to be more like Martha. My mother’s giftedness was not in the hospitality department, and she did not pass that grace to me either. Fortunately for me, however, I have been blessed to have several women in my life who made hospitality seem as though this is the thing for which they were born. You will know whenever you have been in the company of one of these ladies because they make you feel as though you are the most important person in the world. In fact, everyone in the room, no matter the crowd, feels the same way. My grandmother had the gift and so do several of my friends today.

When I lived in California, I was part of a group of women who I will always consider my forever friends—sisters in Christ who love me dearly. How many people can say they know they are loved dearly? I mean, these ladies are special! During my few years with them I was captivated by their desire to really show each other in tangible ways how much they cared. I have never been thrown birthday parties that made one feel like a princess in my 50 plus years as I had three years in a row while I lived there.

I may have had a slightly negative view of Martha before I met these women. I mean, the moral of the story here is that Mary was doing the better thing, right? We get a better understanding into the personalities of these women when combined with their actions in John 11. It is Martha who runs out to meet Jesus. Mary stayed (literally was sitting) at the house. We see great faith in Martha’s first words to Jesus. “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Martha knew Jesus. In these next few verses, we see how Jesus grows Martha’s faith a little deeper in understanding who He is. Jesus makes a statement about who He is and asks her if she believes it. Martha affirms that she does, indeed, believe it and goes away to find Mary pulling her aside and saying, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” When she heard, she got up quickly and went to Jesus. Mary falls at Jesus’ feet (there’s something so humbling about watching how Mary worships this one she so dearly loves), and says, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Seeing Mary’s tears, Jesus is deeply moved in spirit and troubled. The rest of the story is of how Lazarus is raised from the dead. In verse 45, immediately following this story of the raising of Lazarus it says, “Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.”

In Luke 10 we see Mary is not sitting across the room or listening from afar. This word sitting has the idea of being near. Martha was distracted with all her preparations. She comes to the Lord and says, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” (Can you hear the whine in there?) There is no doubt that Martha is trying her best to serve the Lord. She is giving it her all. That is not the point of the story. The next word is the word ‘But’. That is a stop and take notice of what is said next word. But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one this is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Mary’s taking it all in, pondering, considering, learning. Martha is distracted. Mary’s drawn to Jesus. Martha is distracted which means to draw away. Preparations means ministry or service. They are both serving. Mary chose the one thing that is necessary.

Sometimes we allow our service for God to take precedence over our devotion to Him. Our devotion to God must be the basis of our service for Him. Worship is the basis of all the work done in His name. Mary is always seen sitting at Jesus’ feet. In Jesus’ day, rabbis would have considered it to be a waste of time to teach women. Jesus, notably, took the time to evangelize and teach women. God values male and female alike. Even though their roles are different, they both must be equipped with truth in order that they may know Him. Through these women, especially Mary in this case, the Lord teaches us a vital lesson about our main priority that needs to be our focus even during our busy schedules. We all must sit at Jesus feet, for sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to His Word is the one thing necessary in life.

When Covid-19 began, social media was flooded with Scripture references regarding anxiety and worry. All verses point us to keep our focus on the Lord in times when we are tempted to worry or fret. Many of us have loved the extra time we have been able to carve out of our days while quarantined at home, to intentionally make time to rest in Jesus. But that should be the way of life for the believer. As those who have received eternal life in Christ, we must focus on the eternal. We must keep our eyes on Jesus so that we do not miss Him like Martha did because she was disturbed about dinner going off without a hitch. One day the dirty dishes in the sink would no longer cross her mind. What would remain with her for all eternity is feasting on the Lord’s presence.