Martha Syndrome

“I should do the dishes before I sit down this morning.”

“The table is a mess; I should tidy it up before I do anything.”

“While I’m at it, I should clean the bathroom too.”

These thoughts run through my head when I wake up and start moving through our house. These thoughts also sneak in and steal me away from spending precious time with the Lord in the morning. I get so distracted by the things around me that I ignore the most important thing…God. 

This is something that I’ve started calling Martha Syndrome after the Martha that we find in the Gospels. Luke 10:38-42 says,

 “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Every time I heard this story, I desperately wanted to be like Mary, forgetting about the present worries and simply soaking in the presence and wisdom of Jesus. Yet, without fail, I am more Martha than Mary nine times out of ten. I choose to be consumed with creating a perfect outward appearance, showing the world that I’ve got it all together. I get so focused on trying to do the things that I should that I miss out on connection.

Sometimes, being focused and distracted are the same thing. It all depends on what we’re focused on and why. It’s not wrong to want to serve others well, but it shouldn’t take away from our time building relationships. It’s okay to want a clean house, but that shouldn’t be what our mind is focused on every time we step through the door. It’s easy to let distraction masquerade as focused intention, which is why we need to see our lives through a Christ-centric lens. 

Jesus didn’t care if Martha’s house was spotless and shining; he cared for the people right in front of him. Jesus can and will meet you in the middle of your mess. You don’t have to have an immaculate house, an aesthetically pleasing Instagram, or the perfect children. He is ready and waiting to walk through this life with you, but you must first choose. What are your priorities, and where does the Lord fit into that? Maybe it’s time to reevaluate how much stock we put into doing what we think we should rather than doing what we need to do. Perhaps today is the day we choose to meet with our Lord at a messy kitchen table, surrounded by evidence of a well-lived life, instead of pushing off that precious time until we’ve gotten our lives in order. Today, let’s choose to be a Martha who sits at her Lord’s feet.