Overcoming Cares, Part 2b
(Mark 4:18–19 DKJV) “And these are they (the seeds) which are sown among thorns; [the thorny soil are the people who] hear the word, (19) And the cares of this world (life) … choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
"Cares of this world" are the ordinary every day anxieties and worries that we all face. Jesus explained that the problem with them is that they are unnecessary, and that they distract our minds from what he considers important. The following story about what happened at Mary and Martha's house is a great illustration of what this is, and how it works:
(Luke 10:38–42 EMTV) Now it came to pass as they traveled, that He entered into a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. (39) And the woman had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’s feet and was listening to His word. (40) But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” (41) And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. (42) But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
The scene described here reveals much about how “cares” distract us from God’s preferred focus: Mary sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to his word—this is where the issues of life emanate (Prov. 4:20–23); this is the source of solutions; this is where the word that brings life, healing, grace, wisdom, creativity, correction, etc. originates. Mary focused herself on what is truly and eternally important; she was “seeking first the Kingdom of God.” In response, Jesus said, “Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
However, on the surface, Mary looked like the irresponsible one; she was reclining—the picture of one resting in Christ. Meanwhile, Martha looked to be responsible; she was busy doing her hostess duties—preparing food and serving it—the picture of self-dependent provision, albeit seemingly noble.
Martha was doing what would normally be considered the female host’s responsibility in their tradition. Yet despite cultural and courteous norms, in God’s eyes Martha’s priorities were wrong whereas Mary’s were right. After all, Jesus could have fed the whole crowd gathered that day with a few small bread rolls and a couple of small fish.
Revealing her troubled and divided heart further, Martha came to Jesus and asked for something. This was her prayer: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
This not only revealed the weedy state of her heart—full of the distraction of care—but also a manipulative approach to prayer. Her focus on her “cares” took her eyes and ears off the Lord Jesus and his words. This meant that she wasn’t receiving faith, the flow of life, and the grace needed to enable her to walk in true, unadulterated love.
Therefore, when she approached Jesus; instead of coming with overflowing love and faith, she came in rejection and frustration—from failed religious efforts to impress him. This was obviously an overflow of the darkness that is always present when no light is entering. This in turn resulted in a manipulative prayer that tried to get him, not only to worry himself, but also to help her in her attempts to impress him with her [religious] self-effort.
Cut off from the light of Jesus’s vision coming in, Martha’s request was aimed at fulfilling her own vision—which proved to be the exact opposite of our Lord’s vision: she wanted Mary to be distracted by cares and disengaged from Jesus like she was. Whereas Jesus wanted them both to ignore the cares, and to be focused totally on God’s manna from heaven.
Martha had lost sight of the truth that Jesus is Lord; so she tried to take over that role herself, directing him: “Tell her to help me.” Of course, Jesus didn’t grant this directive/request; instead, he pointed her to what he believes is at the zenith of life’s priorities:
(Luke 10:41–42 EMTV) And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. (42) But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Jesus is the greatest teacher, with the greatest content ever; he contains the correct view of God, the universe, and the way things work. Only he can reveal how to succeed in receiving blessing and kingdom fruit. That day, he said that Mary had chosen wisely—and that he would not stop her; she sat at his feet and heard his words—seemingly ignoring the culturally enforced everyday worries, cares, and distractions.
Obviously Mary loved him, and like “those around him with the twelve,” she recognized the opportunity of a lifetime. Mary realized that no other place was more important, and that no other priority more urgent than sitting at Jesus’s feet, drinking in his life-giving words.
At the risk of repeating myself, I feel the Holy Spirit prompting me to ask you again: “Do you recognize what Mary recognized? Do you prioritize what she prioritized? Are you prepared to go against peer pressure, family expectation, religious manipulation, and cultural norms to pursue what Jesus considers the “one thing” that is “needed”? And do you fully accept that ordinary, everyday worries, cares, anxieties, and pressures that divide your focus onto other things are the enemy; they are cursed thorns that operate in direct opposition to God’s kingdom seeds coming to harvest through your life?”
In steering Martha in God’s direction, Jesus mentioned worry. Worry, anxiety, and care are all in the same category; they are pseudo priorities that distract and overload the mind—keeping it from having its sole focus on God’s omnipotent word. Let’s do it again today; let’s cast all—that is, every single one of—our cares on him by praying about everything. Do it now!
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