Have you met Martha?

It’s not possible to write about distractions and how to break free from them without sharing the Bible’s poster gal of busyness herself, Martha.

We all know Martha from the Bible, don’t we? Yes, Martha might as well be my spiritual-sister of pain when it comes to hitting me right between the eyes more than any other woman in the Bible. She's a beautiful example of spiritual truths I need to work on daily in my own life.


My name is Joanne, and I’m a Martha. I am an over-achiever do-do-do queen. I’m easily distracted by the mundane and microscopic. I volunteer for too much, am soon distracted by the overwhelming nature of the task, and within minutes I’m irritable over the unimportant and soon angry no one is helping me. Sound like a “Martha” to you?


When I took the time to study this Godly woman, I discovered there are only five teeny-tiny verses in the gospel of Luke that share her story, yet five verses pack a knock-out punch, don’t they? While teaching at a recent women’s conference, I shared how the Lord gave me another insight into Martha, and surprisingly, it wasn’t about her busyness.


Luke 10:38-42
Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”




We see Martha quite a few times throughout the gospels, much of the time she is serving. In the first part of Luke 38:40 But Martha was distracted with much serving… we see Martha is distracted.


We’ve already learned distracted means to be drawn away from or diverted. But, it got me thinking, not only is Martha busy, busy, busy, she is being taken away from the best part of her day, her time with Jesus.


Our time with the Lord is so very important. When Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, he felt it important enough to share with them. And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction. 1Corinthians 7:35


As much as I enjoy serving Him through women’s Bible studies, writing, and encouraging friends, I should ask the Lord every morning what my “better” choice for the day should be. Time with Him is a blessed opportunity. The more I spend time with Him, the more I want to spend time with Him.

The Attraction of Distraction

I’m easily distracted. Just ask my husband. My nickname is “Bright-Shiny-Thing”. It’s true. Whatever I begin, no matter how simple, I end up off course. The definition of distract means to draw away from or divert. No matter what is on my to-do list for the day, I struggle with being drawn away or diverted.


When I became a mother, I went from being the distractee to the distractor. It was these early years of mommyhood where I learned the fine art of distraction. Today I hold an advanced degree in the field. Bringing home my first child, I hated to hear her cry. I wanted to soothe every wail and quiet every whimper. My mother would encourage, “It’s OK for her to cry Joanne.” She’d remind me. “It strengthens her lungs.” Really, where does it say that in the medical books? I wondered.


As she grew, when she’d reach for something I didn’t want her to have I’d tell her “No.” If that didn’t work I’d begin the amazing game of distraction. “Meghan, look over here.” I’d shake her favorite toy, drawing her eyes away from whatever was holding her attention. By the time child number four came into the world, I was a master-distractor.


Outings to the grocery store were my classroom. This is where I’d fine-tune my skill, drawing my children away from the cookie aisle, soda pop and candy aisle, and anything else that danced, whirled or whistled by them at the check-out counter. I distracted with the finesse and speed of a gazelle. I was teaching my children to have the attention spans of gnats, cutting their focus down to mini-moments. “Look here. See what I have? Oh wow, come check this out!”


In my own life, distraction is the very first step towards discontent. Quite honestly, when I’m no longer content with the abundance of blessings I’ve been given my day seems to lose its sparkle.


Discontent makes way for grumbling and grumbling cuts a wide path for coveting to settle into my heart- not a great way to spend the afternoon when I’m cleaning the kitchen for the umpteenth time.

My mind likes to work overtime as I scrub and wipe, polish and sweep. I begin to let it wander where it shouldn’t…to the Land of Grumbling & Fables. “Cheryl has it easy. Her husband does the dishes for her every night.” Truth-Cheryl’s husband did it once on Cheryl’s 40th birthday. “Terry’s teenage daughter was cleaning the kitchen when I was over last. Her daughter is so helpful.” Truth-Terry’s teenage daughter was cleaning the kitchen because she’d been disciplined for coming home late the night before. “Melanie gets to work all day with adults.” Truth – Melanie would give anything to cut back on her hours at work. And she can’t stand half of the adults in her office. “All I do is clean, clean, clean. I’m just the maid around here!” Truth-I spend more time each day checking my email than cleaning the kitchen.

How about you? Are you easily distracted?
What is it that distracts and derails your day?

Stay tuned, tomorrow we'll take a peek at the Bible's poster-girl of distraction.