By Yanira Hiza
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Luke 10:41-42 (KJV)
In this story, we see two sisters receiving Jesus in their home. Martha was in a hurry serving and trying to do everything possible to make Jesus feel at home. Seeing that her sister was not helping her because Mary had chosen to be seated at the Master's feet, she said, "Lord tell her to help me."
Because she was irritated and frustrated, she went as far as to tell God what He should do. Jesus replied, "Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things." I love that Jesus did not condemn her. He just made her see the importance of her priorities in life.
Some of us now a day are in the same boat as Martha. We have confused service with a relationship. Some people serve the Lord without having a personal relationship with Him. Sadly, we make the same mistake with our families. Many of us spend time and energy trying to meet their material needs and neglect our relationship with them.
To supply the needs of our families is not bad; it is part of our role as children of God. The problem arises when, after a long day, our family wants to share their achievements, concerns, disappointments, or dreams with us, and we tell them, "Let's talk tomorrow, today I'm tired," or when we fall asleep while they ask us for advice.
Doing that is how we have replaced a relationship with service. Many of us are doing with our families what Martha did with Jesus. Children of God, we need to realize that one of the weapons used by the enemy is eagerness. The devil wants to keep us going in eight directions to tire us and stress us out so that we do not fulfill God's purpose for our families.
God has called us to build the kingdom of heaven and bless our families, and no one can do either without having strong relationships with Jesus and with our families. I propose that from now on, we ensure that our desire to care for and provide for our families is not above the time we spend with them.
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