Important vs Necessary

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 10:41-42 NAS)

My wife and I were ready to go on a planned holiday a few years ago. Our luggage bags were all packed, and just before leaving the house, we made a final round of checking to ensure the electricity, the gas and water supply were turned off, and the windows were closed. We boarded the cab which we have called in to book earlier, and were soon on our way to the airport. Halfway through the journey, however, I suddenly realized I have left our travel papers at home. Without a choice then, I told the driver to send us back to where we first boarded.

Many of us tend to forget what is most important when in the midst of planning and preparing for an event. Like me and my wife, we may be planning to travel abroad, and we know what is most important is our travel documents. Without our passports, tickets and immigration papers, everything else we do in preparing for our travel is useless. This, of course, does not mean we need not prepare the necessary, but rather it means we need to know our priorities and what is most important.

As Christians, we have been called to prepare the way for our Lord’s return. Some of us may have labored hard to prepare the way by planning and organizing evangelistic events, by involving ourselves in many Christian activities, and by performing all the things necessary to ensure the smooth running of the greatest upcoming event on earth. All these are worthy, good, and necessary, but sometimes we may get too caught up with such activities that we neglect what is most important—Jesus.

Busying ourselves to ensure the world is ready for our Lord’s return is perfectly fine. However, if like Martha we become too distracted with all the preparations or too worried and bothered by the many things that need to be done to the point of failing to see the good part, then all our efforts would have been in vain.

Just as without our passports we cannot travel abroad, so it is the same for us if we do not have Christ as the center of our lives. Everything we did in preparing for His return would have been in vain. We ought therefore to learn from Mary to set our priorities right by choosing the good part to sit at Jesus’ feet and to put Him first in everything (Luke 10:38-42). If we, after busying ourselves with the necessary, discover we have left our first love for God, we should then remember where we have fallen and repent by going back to where we have left behind or first ‘boarded’. We must then do the deeds we have first done with the same heart and passion so as to rediscover our first love (Revelation 2:4-5).

Forgive us dear Lord for sometimes failing to put You first in all we do, and for failing at times to set our priorities right. Help us always to be mindful Lord to focus on what is the most important even while busying ourselves with the necessary. Be the center of our lives Lord, that all we do may not be in vain, for we know O Lord that without You, we can accomplish nothing worthy of claim.