stuff i think

Luke 10:38-42
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the work myself? Tell her to help me!?
"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."

Having grown up in church, I've heard this taught nineteen different ways, but the underlying message I've heard seems to be "Don't let yourself get too busy to spend time with Jesus." While there is truth in that, I think it's the Fisher-Price version of what's going on here.

The passage says the preparations had to be made. I don't know that Jesus expected Martha to quit serving - in fact, if no one was washing feet, Jesus was known to get up and do it himself. I think the greater issue is Martha's attitude - "Will you make my sister get off her duff and do something useful?!?"

Our issues usually have less to do with what we're doing and more to do with what we feel about what others should be doing.