And you reply with ‘good thanks’, but ‘I’m busy’.
“Would you like to...?”
“Sorry I’m just too busy.”
Which to a certain extent is true, but...
“Busy” seems to excuse a lot of things and Aussies wear it with a badge of honour.
I think the reason is to not be busy somehow infers you are lazy.
Everyone hates to be thought of as lazy, or maybe not important or boring. Whatever the reason, I hear it a lot in our modern world.
There is a great example of this in the Bible, when Jesus went to visit two girls, one called Mary and one called Martha.
To have Jesus visit your home was a big honour. To have a visit from Jesus was more than the hosting the Pope or prime ministers or a Queen.
So, a big deal. So when Jesus came to visit, Mary sat at his feet and was listening to his wise words, but her sister Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing and came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here, while I do all the work?”
“Tell her to help me.”
But Jesus said, “my dear Martha you are worried and upset over all these details. There is only one thing to be concerned about and Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Martha was a doer, she was a practical person and wanted to get lunch on. She really probably wanted to hear Jesus’ words too. She felt tired and overworked. She was busy doing lunch (there is that word again) and didn’t have time to listen or talk to him.
Mary was a listener and had balance in her life. She recognised when there was a time to listen and a time to work. While Martha wanted to get the housework done, Mary took off her apron (I think I identify with Mary) and put off the housework, to listen and chat with the honoured guest Jesus.
Like Martha, we can become weary in our work for Jesus, when we fail to sit at his feet, when we become too busy, to pray, to spend time with him. When we strike the balance, we become more effective and we seem to have more time.
I feel sorry for Martha here too, as everyone likes the person who cooks the roast.
Liz Spicer
Chaplain Kyabram P-12 College
7°C