The One Thing

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything,”—but I will not be mastered by anything.

1 Corinthians 6:12

My daughter pulled a tangled mass of necklaces from her jewelry box. The intertwined chains resisted her attempts to untangle them. Not to be defeated, my daughter retrieved some wire cutters and began snipping some of the chains. She chose the necklaces she really wanted and cut away the ones that were less important to her. As she cut and extracted, the valued chains remained intact.

In Luke 10, we find Martha scurrying around the house consumed with all the activities of a good hostess. Can you relate? I sure can! Just a week ago, I was doing the same thing. Planning a menu, decorating, cleaning house, buying and wrapping gifts, organizing Christmas Day activities. All so the guests would have a good time. Jesus told Martha that she was concerned with many things. These were not bad things, but they kept her from the most important thing - listening and learning from Jesus.

Like my daughter’s necklaces, our lives sometime become an entangled conglomeration of activities. It may be time to take the wire cutters to our busy schedules. As Paul told the Corinthians, I have the right to do anything...but not everything is beneficial. Simplifying my life can help me focus on what truly matters.

We are limited by time, energy and resources so we can’t tackle everything. Prioritizing what is most important helps me identify what could be eliminated from my life or schedule. Jesus spoke of priorities when he told Martha that Mary had chosen the best activity, sitting at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said (Luke 10:38). All other things are secondary.

Lord, thank you for allowing us to experience so many things. Give us discernment to know what to cut out or add so we can focus on the most important things, especially time with you.

Terri