Prioritize: Diminish Your Distractions
We continue with our series entitled FORWARD. So far, we’ve already seen the importance of prayer in our efforts to pursue our God-given dreams. Today, let us take up the third step in the process of moving forward…
Prioritize. Diminish your distractions.
We need to eliminate those things that bog us down by setting the right priority so that we can choose the best path forward.
“Priority” is a very commonly used word in our time. And I think as our...our society becomes more frenetic, more frantic, more disjointed, disconnected, more mobile, more involved, as life speeds up and becomes literally engulfed in so many different things, the word "priority" seems to be constantly on the lips of people who are trying to sort out life and get some kind of pecking order in terms of the things they need to be committed to. We have books on priorities, setting priorities. You can hire people to come in and teach you how to prioritize things. It's really become a very, very popular word because it seems to be a very great need in our complex time.
When we use the word "priority" we just sort of use it on its own. It sort of exists in its own little world. And when we say "priority" we usually mean the important thing, or what is the main thing, or what is most necessary. What really matters most.
Well let me dig a little deeper into that word. It is helpful to know something about the word "priority." It is simply a form of the word prior. Now we all know what the word "prior" means. It means before, or ahead of, or preceding. A priority then is something that comes before everything else. It precedes everything else. It's ahead of everything else. It is then what is supreme, what is essential, what is foundational, what is preeminent, what is antecedent to everything that follows. So when you talk about priority, we're really saying what in my life comes before anything else? What is before anything else and everything else?
Did you know that the word Priority came into the English language in the 1400s? It was always in the singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about Priorities.
So what is the number priority(ies) of your life? For a moment I want you to list down in your sermon notes your top 3 priorities.
Our lesson today comes from the New Testament this time. In our passage today, we will meet two sisters from Bethany who both love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ. One got so distracted while the other one chose the best.
Let’s step into their story.
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.
We know of course what this “certain village was.” The name of the village was Bethany. How do we know that? Because we find out from John 11 and 12 that that's where Mary and Martha lived with their brother Lazarus. Their house is a favorite place for Jesus to stay while he passes by Bethany. In fact, John tells us that Lazarus has become so dear to Jesus that He wept over his death (John 11:35).
“…a woman named Martha.” Martha is an Aramaic word meaning “mistress,” (female for master), as in, the mistress of the house. It suits her since obviously she appears to be the hostess and it is her house. She is likely the oldest because she's usually named first when Martha and Mary are named. Well she welcomed Him. That's a grand word. “Welcome,” Hupodechomai means to embrace and entertain as a guest. They were happy to have Him. They were excited to have Him. They believed in Him.
39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said.
Now that's a rather light mention. It doesn't tell us anything about Mary, nothing. She's very, very lightly mentioned and yet she becomes the central figure in the story and she becomes the example for all of us for the rest of our Christian experience. She is the model to follow, this Mary. Why? Nothing about her physical features, nothing about her temperament or her personality. All we know about her is that when Jesus came to their house, sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. That's all we know. But that's enough to tell us about her, listening in the continual sense.
“…Sat at the Lord’s feet.” That posture was so unbecoming for women at that time (maybe until now). The rabbis didn't allow that. A woman could learn in the back, or in the woman's section. But to come up and be at His feet, actually parakathezomai, para, alongside, she was as close as she could get, as near as she could be. Her position indicated her intense interest in His teaching.
She got as close as she could get not to miss a word. She was literally riveted to the most powerful, clear, truthful teacher who ever spoke. There she is right alongside Jesus, sitting at His feet. That's a term we use today. When you say you go to school, you sit at the feet of a certain scholar. It's borrowed from the ancient world. But women didn't have that privilege. She didn't care about conventional wisdom. She was there listening to the Lord's words, the closer the better. And she demonstrates the attitude of a true believer.
40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
This is where we will start picking out principles for our message today.
4 Steps to Prioritize What’s Best
1. Consider What’s Best
Start by accepting the fact that everything is not equally important. Let me repeat that: everything in your life is not equally important.
Again, we know that both Mary and Martha love the Lord. Both of them wanted to please and serve the Master. Both did what’s good for the Master. But we know one chose the best.
(40) But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
Martha was “distracted” (Gk Perispao), lit. to be pulled away, to be dragged away which was like, you know, she was fussing around with the food and she was doing whatever she needed to do to prepare the meal and to get the mat where the Lord was going to sleep and other arrangements for whoever was with Him, and we don't know how many, but enough...just probably more than the Lord Himself and a small number who could stay in the home with them.
And she was concerned about having everything arranged the way it needed to be arranged and whatever water they needed and whatever they needed to wash and all of that, and she has pulled away, pulled away, distracted from what? From the priority of listening to the word of the Lord. Martha was evidently distracted with details that were unnecessarily elaborate.
Martha was doing it for the Lord, the guest of all guests. But in the process, she just had her priorities completely twisted. Furthermore, it wasn't bad enough that Martha's priorities were messed up, but once your priorities get messed up your attitude does too.
(40) …She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
So she starts losing the joy of this service. She becomes agitated. She becomes frustrated. And then she gets mad. That is not the right attitude by which to dispense your hospitality. At the apex of her exasperation, she acted in a way that shows how twisted she was, how easy it is to start out doing something good but because you don't understand what is best, even what is good, creates selfishness, frustration, and then you do something that's outrageous. Because you can't contain your attitude it comes out.
She comes up to Jesus and she says this, "Lord, don’t You care?" That's unbelievable. What an indictment. I mean, that is one of the most graceless statements ever made by a human being to our Lord. Do you mean the One on whom you cast all your care because He cares for you? Do you not care? That is a sad attack. That is an unthinking indictment. She's out of control, she's over the top. This is what we call, "She's lost it.”
(41) But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, (42) but one thing is needed.
See how Jesus contrasted “many things’ versus “one thing.” Martha was drawn around with so many things, while Mary was focused on just one thing.
The point? Everything is not equally important. Almost all of us adults struggle with this today. Right? We become so distracted by the trivial things in life that we can’t move forward to the essential, to what really matters most.
Again, both Mary and Martha wanted the best thing for Jesus and for themselves, but not everything is best and important. We can’t make everything important. There are essential and non-essential. There are majors and minors. There are eternal and there are temporal.
Our cluttered world bombards us with thousands of bits of data every day. No wonder we’re distracted! It’s easy for the most important things to be lost. That’s why we must acknowledge that not everything is a priority. Not every activity is vital. Not every situation is eternal. Not every decision is the best.
Remember what Jesus taught in the Parable of the Sower?
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. (Mark 4:18-19)
Can you relate to that? The Lord has sown the seed of His Word into our hearts, but it’s not as productive or fruitful as He wants. Somehow His work in and through us is choked by “worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things.”
Often times our inability to move forward is due to a lack of knowledge on what is really the best and important—we fail to even consider that some things are more important than others. Without understanding the nature of priorities, you can’t sort through the cares of this world, but you can become paralyzed by burdens, business, and busyness. In trying to do everything you end up doing nothing.
The point? Understanding that not all things are equally important is an essential part of the forward life. Priorities keep you focused and help you accomplish what really matters because the best way forward is . . . forward!
Consider what’s best.
2. Clarify What’s Best
Once you’ve understood the significance of considering what is important vs not important, the essential vs. trivial, the next step to getting unstuck is to actually clarify or determine the most important things in your life.
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, 42 but one things is needed.
We need clarity to know what is really the best. But one thing is needed according to Jesus.
Jesus wasn’t saying that Martha’s cooking and preparing the table for Jesus was bad. It was good. Jesus is in no way condemning those who volunteer in the kitchen department or those in charge of food preparation. That’s not the point of this story.
In this particular story, Jesus clarified what’s best, and that’s being with Him, listening to Him, worshipping Him.
According to Jesus, Martha was distracted by so many things that she failed to see what is really the best, the most important at that very moment.
Martha made so many things best. She wasn’t clear what’s really the “bestest,” what really matters to God. But Mary did. Mary was clear at that moment what was the best thing to do.
REFLECT:
Now before you condemn Martha, what is it that keeps you from being here to hear the Word of God? Can you work this into your schedule every week? What lame, non-essential occupies you on Sundays other times when you could hear the Word of God?
There are Marthas among us. You allow yourself to get sucked into all the unnecessary things that only lead to greater frustration. And then you become critical of those who are doing the right thing, trying to justify yourself.
We need to start by asking what’s most important to God. What isn’t as important to Him? What do you need to focus on in your life, and what can you start deleting?
To generate forward momentum, evaluate your activities. Be crystal clear about what’s the most important, what’s the greatest. Then focus on them. I can’t give you an itemized list of what should be important to you. But in Mark 12, Jesus gave us the greatest that should be central to everyone’s life.
(28) One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” (29) “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. (30) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (31) The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31 NIV)
Once we have considered the essentials from the trivial. Then we have clarified what is God’s best for our lives, the next thing to do is to actually choose that best.
3. Choose What’s Best
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, 42 but one things is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
Unlike Martha, Mary considered what’s best. She was clear about what was the best and the best thing? She chose what’s best.
Our lives are so full of unnecessaries, trivial, non-essentials. They control us. They distract our forward momentum for the prize. They ruin our attitudes. They whack away at our relationships. We get frustrated over stuff that does not matter whether politics or stuff that you get yourself involved in, in your work-a-day world or your neighborhood. Choose for your life the one thing, to see the beauty of the Lord, like David.
One thing I ask from the LORD,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)
Brethren, we need to make intentional, planned choices to embrace what is best and eliminate barriers, what is merely good. Doing so take so much determination and dedication. We love good things. But the enemy of the best are the good.
2 Steps to Choose the Best
A. Choose to Eliminate Your Distractions
To move forward, you need the determination to eliminate distractions by saying no to bad things and even saying no to a lot of good things. You only want to say yes to the best things. No to the bad. No to the good. Yes to the best!
I am sure Mary was aware of the preparations needed for that day. I mean Jesus was in their house and good hosts need to put their best foot forward. But Mary chose the best by sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to Jesus. I’m sure it was difficult for her to leave her sister in the kitchen, but she has to choose the best by eliminating some of the good.
To move forward in life, we have to discover the beauty of the word no. The practice of a graceful no to some good opportunities so that you can focus on the best ones takes so much courage, but boy, is it liberating!
B. Choose to Embrace Your Devotion
For Mary,her good part was her simple devotion to Jesus, loving Him by listening to His word. This was Mary’s chosen focus and she chose to embrace it. For Mary the best thing was to be at Jesus’ feet and listen. And Jesus said, “Mary chose the one thing needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
4. Commit to What’s Best
Let me sum up first what we’ve learned so far. As we are moving forward we need to prioritize. That means we need to consider, recognize that not everything is best. Once we’ve done that, we need to clarify, we need to zero in to what is really the best, the most important, the most essential in life, then have the courage to choose the best. Doing so means that we need to have the determination to eliminate any possible distractions and embrace your devotion.
And finally, we need the commitment and consistency to practice choosing what’s best all the time.
Let’s go back to Mary. And notice the last statement of our Lord.
42 but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”
Now what does that mean?
Mary knew what’s the most important in her life, and that is being with Jesus, listening to His word.
And you know what. She’s the same woman who broke an expensive alabaster jar of pure oil to anoint Jesus a few days before his death. And you know what Jesus said of her?
(6) “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. (9) Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Mark 14:6,9)
Because Mary chose what’s best and what’s beautiful for Jesus, He memorialized her.
Brethren, to move forward and reach your potentials in God, choose what’s best for God. And not only what’s best, but what is beautiful for Jesus.
Brethren, when we commit to practice these principles, we place ourselves in the path God has promised to bless us. Even when things appear discouraging, keep pressing ahead, trusting God to make a way. Stay committed to what’s best, for the Lord takes things from there and works wonders.
Closing
Somebody said that this account from the life of Jesus shows us three types of those who say they follow Jesus Christ.
1. There are people like Mary: Those who know what’s best and are committed to pursue it with all their hearts.
2. There are people like Martha: Those who diligently do so many bests, even with the best intentions serve God, but without knowing the One thing Best, it results in great frustration.
But then;
3. There are people who don’t do either. They don’t know what’s best and are not even trying to do other best. They are not even in the house with Jesus, for they are too busy outside with their own pursuits.
“…abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,” (Phil. 1:9-10 NIV)
…keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.” (Phil. 1:9-10 NLT)