Jump Start # 3899
Luke 10:40 “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.”
Poor Martha, Martha. A house full of guests and she is left alone to take care of them. Her sister, Mary, was sitting, while Martha was serving. One can imagine the stares she gave her sister. She likely nodded with her head, cleared her throat to get her attention and did everything to move Mary to action. Mary stayed put. Finally, when Martha had enough, it wasn’t the stew that was steaming, it was her spirit and attitude. Martha makes two bold moves. First, she interrupts Jesus while He is teaching. Can you imagine?! Second, she tells Jesus to do something. No one tells Jesus. You might ask Jesus, but you don’t tell Jesus.
The phrase, ‘Lord, do you not care,’ that Martha says, is a mirror to what the apostles said to Jesus in the storm as He slept in the boat. Don’t you care? And, to answer that, it is very likely that Jesus didn’t care. The spiritual always takes a higher place than the physical.
Our verse opens with the expression, “But Martha was distracted…” The distracted driver is a danger to the highway. In some states, it’s against the law to text while driving.
Oh we live with distractions in worship. Someone walks in late, and heads turn to see who it is. A baby cries, and heads turn. Someone steps out to go to the bathroom and all eyes follow that person. Distractions.
We often justify distractions in this culture by using the idea of multitasking. Multitasking is just that. It’s doing multiple things all at once. Earlier generations would be crazy with this idea. I’m into this as well. Got a ballgame on the TV, I’ll have my phone or tablet in my lap, checking emails and texts. Listening to a podcast or a sermon, and I’m walking about the office doing other things at the same time. Those that are good at multitasking can accomplish so much and never miss a beat. I wonder what all this does for us in worship?
How easy it is to check on texts or emails while listening to a sermon. Some can even send texts and emails while sitting in worship. Check the weather radar. Catch the score of a game. Hit the highlights of the news, all while a sermon is being preached. Is this right or wrong? Some can do this.
In the book, “Christ the eternal son,” written more than three decades ago, the author confesses a “sadness about the shallowness of Christian thinking in our day. Many are interested in religion as a kind of toy…” They “go to church without any genuine desire to gear into deity. They do not come to meet God and delight in His presence. They do not come to hear from that everlasting world above!”
And, from our context, we hear the words of our Lord, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things.” The distracted worshipper presents a real concern for us. Someone will be bothered by these thoughts and declare, “Am I going to Hell because I checked the score of a ballgame during church?” That’s up to God and not us. And, while it’s not the end of the world, it represents a much larger issue at hand.
If I am to love the Lord with my ALL—all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, what does this say to the multitasking worshipper? Can I not wait an hour to check the score of the game? Is the outcome of the game as essential as giving God my complete attention? I fear that the younger crowd will have more of a problem with this than the senior saints. And, the way our culture is going, it’s only going to present more challenges and difficulties.
While catching the score of a game seems so innocent, how about someone looking up a recipe to share with someone? How about playing a game on my phone while we are singing? How about reading some work emails while we take the Lord’s Supper? How about checking Facebook while we are praying? Someone might reply, “I’m listening to what’s going on.” Multitasking.
May I make a few suggestions:
First, put your phone on silent and put it away during worship. If using a Bible app on your phone presents a problem to look around at other things on your phone, bring a printed Bible. Put the phone up. Focus.
Second, sitting still in silence can be healthy and helpful. Observe. Think. Meditate. Pray. All those wonderful concepts spring forth when one is not distracted. While your phone may be a neutral tool, the devil will use it to get your mind off of the Heavenly. While multitasking may be a compliment to our times, being singularly focused and intent can be a true blessing. If you struggle with getting much out of worship, could it be the distractions about you. Move up, closer to the front. Leave your phone in the car. Think about the Lord.
Third, distractions got the best of Martha. She thought the Lord would say, “Mary, go help your sister.” He didn’t. He praised Mary for choosing the good part. One of the churches I preached at years ago, had a door that clicked when it was opened and closed. Someone came to me after one service and asked if I knew how many times that door was open and closed during worship. I didn’t know and I really didn’t care. This person knew. They counted. They knew exactly how many times. Now, if I was to ask, “How many times did you hear the name Jesus or Lord during the entire worship,” would they have known? I doubt it. Focused on the wrong things. That’s what distractions do. We catch mistakes of others. We notice who is sitting where. We focus upon all the wrong things.
Have you ever sat in the church auditorium all by yourself? I have. It’s one of my favorite places. Quiet. Just thoughts of the Heavenly. And, when I do that, distractions do not seem so distracting. The world doesn’t seem to matter. God’s got it, no matter what’s going on. There is a peace and a calm that comes from just sitting quietly in the place I worship.
Multitasking Christians—make sure it doesn’t distract you from being a disciple. That’s who you really are.
Roger