Chill Out A Bit! (Martha Sounds Like A Staff Member)

You need to chill out a bit!
Yea, you, church staffer or volunteer...chill out just a bit.
It's interesting how many church people claim to have their priorities in the "proper" order yet continue to live out and schedule hectic stressful calendars. Many times I feel like grabbing some of my friends and church volunteers by their collar and whispering "Is that task really going to matter 3-years from now?" We just run from place to place, person to person, text to text, errand to errand, service to service, church group to church group, recovery group to recovery group, all the while thinking bitterly, "Why can't I seem to get more help around here to share the load?!"
And then wonder why we can't seem to have enough to time to ever soak in a John 10:10 life.
I include myself in this group


This is why when I read the following passage I had the strong feeling that,
Martha sounds like a staff member! She would fit in better than Mary in many church staff teams!
Here's the short description of us...oh wait, I mean Martha...a lot of the time:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
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!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.       (Luke 10:38-42, emphasis added)

To me, Martha sounds a lot like me and you. Doesn't it?
I'm convinced that one of the main reasons we get sick, or get stuck in traffic, or get put in a long line at the grocery store, or have to go to the bathroom so frequently is that Jesus is graciously forcing us to be still and actually listen to Him.

I think Jesus is often saying to us, "Chill out a bit."
What are you doing in life right now that you know you don't need to be doing?

A Proverb: Choose Your Students Wisely

As I read the following Proverb yesterday I knew I had to share some thoughts on it.

Here's the passage:

"Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don't bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more."
Proverbs 9:7-9 NLT

A couple of thoughts:

• This passage implies that there are only two types of people:  the mockers and the wise.
• This passage implies that I'm instructing/supposed to be instructing people how to live.
• What "mockers" am I wasting my time and wounds on? Because I can only take so many wounds before those wounds start killing me
• If I'm going to "correct" anybody, it should be those who are already "wise" because it's a better return on investment. (I'd rather get love than wounds back for my instruction efforts)
•  I think this passage speaks against those Christians who dedicate their lives to boycotting companies like Disney or public schools. Again, you might be wasting your efforts and wounds on the wrong people!

What do you think?