Relationship Over Religion: Put Jesus Over Your Distractions & Hobbies
Word-of-the-Day: ‘(38) As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. (39) She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. (40) But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. 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!” (41) “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, (42) but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”’ (Luke 10:38-42)
Thankfully, yet almost sullenly, football is over until next year (unless one counts spring football or the NFL draft). The American pastime is no longer the passion of baseball but the passion of its football. Around the rest of the world, the pastime is not football but ‘futbol’, or what we call ‘soccer’. There are other things, to be sure, but everyone has their favorite distraction, if not sports a hobby or an activity that is an escape from work or the daily grind all of us face.
Sometimes, we take those distractions seriously and we devote a good deal of time to them. Though my passion for football has waned, thanks in part to the politicization of the professional game years ago, I still will watch games on Sunday afternoon, and occasionally on Saturdays if it is an intriguing college game. I grew up during the Steelers reign in the 1970s, starting with the ‘Immaculate Reception’ of 1972 and running through the four Super Bowl victories into 1979. I continue to be a Steelers fan, though I no longer go out of my way (or pay money) to make sure I see every game they play.
Over the years, my distraction or hobby has been in firearms and 2nd Amendment advocacy. This stems from my Army days and afterwards, the majority of my working years spent associated with the military as a government contractor. Even that has waned a bit as, although I am more in tune with what is going on in the firearms industry, I haven’t been going to the range as much as I like, or as I should, to remain as proficient as I once was.
I was once, regarding both football and firearms, similar to Martha in Luke 10:38-42. In this passage, we find Jesus coming to her small village, and in knowing who Jesus is, invites Jesus and His disciples in to stay, possibly for a day or two as Jesus and His disciples are walking on a journey through Israel to bring the Gospel to people. Martha had the best of intentions; she invites Jesus into her home, and being the ‘hostess with the most-ess’ wants to ensure that they are comfortable, with adequate bedding and enough food and water to satiate their stomachs. She starts going all out to make their stay a great one.
Her sister Mary likely lived with Martha, and together the pair may have invited the group to stay. But while Martha was focused on hospitality, which she evidently has a passion for, toward providing it to her guests; Mary was focused on Jesus, listening to what He said, and learning what He taught. Martha was understandably upset with her sister; Martha’s making the beds, cooking the meals, and bringing in the water while Mary is sitting and intently listening to what Jesus is saying.
Martha eventually reacts, and, as the Pastor says often, in my ‘sanctified imagination’ blows her stack and likely in a higher octave, higher volume tone in her voice, tells Jesus to make her sister help her. Martha doesn’t realize that her distraction, or her hobby, has superseded her devotion to Jesus. She was so intent on fulfilling her passion of hospitality she placed her passion to follow Him in second place. Martha had built up her religion, Mary was building a relationship.
Only Jesus could (again in my sanctified imagination) tell Martha to calm down; that her concern over her hospitality is blinding her to the fact that He is, right now, in front of her, with her and is willing to listen to her and teach her. Mary, on the other hand, understood this; whatever hobby or passion she had of a secular nature was superseded by her passion for Jesus, and that it was more important to take the time to learn from Him, to talk to Him and not waste this precious gift that she had to interact with our Savior.
It is not known, but hopefully it happened that Martha came to the realization that Mary did; it was more important to spend the time with Jesus than to spend the time with her distraction. I have learned that, yes, I can be a firearms enthusiast and a Steelers fan, but those passions must come second to the passion I have for Christ.
Martha could have easily joined Mary in listening to Jesus, and once it was time make a pot of stew instead of a big spread for them to eat; the bedding could have been gathered and dumped on the floor for Jesus and disciples to make up their own bed for the night. While we may think this would have been ‘unhospitable’ for Martha and Mary to do, Jesus knew it was better for them to be Spiritually attentive in listening to Him as that pleased Him more than attending to His and His disciples’ physical comforts.
It is OK to have hobbies; if you enjoy model railroading or ‘wrenching’ on cars, that’s fine to do. But don’t let those hobbies cause you to miss Sunday worship services or interfere with your Bible studies throughout the week. Too many Christians place a Sunday morning tee time for golf over the need to be in church on Sunday; it’s OK to play golf anytime, including Sunday afternoons, but it should never be at the expense of worshipping the Lord at your appointed time.
If you are in church, focus on the Lord; religion is a person in church on Sunday thinking about fishing, but a real relationship with God is a person on his boat fishing on a Tuesday thinking of Jesus and His Gospel message. Don’t let your hobby, or your distraction, from snuffing out the Word – use it to promote the Gospel message.
