MARGIN LIKE JESUS
Kendra Intihar
Today's Scripture: “But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” Luke 10:41-42, ESV
Theme: Prioritizing doesn’t always mean choosing good over bad. More often, it is choosing between good and best.
“BUSY” IS A PROP
In 2011, my husband and I were in an incredible Bible study at our church in the suburbs of Philadelphia. The Bible study leader said to our group, “I want you to tell me how you’re doing, and you cannot use the word ‘busy.’”
Friends, that’s the only word I knew to describe how I was doing. When someone asked, “How are you?” My standard response—100% of the time—was, “Busy! How are you?”
Until that question was asked, I had not realized what a prop that one word was in my life. Growing up, my family was always “busy.” My mom and dad both worked full time, my brother and I were in lots of extracurricular activities, and our friends used to joke that our family’s middle name was “go.” My mother was especially talented at about a thousand things, so when she wasn’t at work, we were together catering someone’s event, or assembling fresh flowers for their bridal bouquet, or hot gluing this-thing to that-thing to make an even grander-thing. We never stopped.
It is now 2023, and this is still a battle I have to show up and fight every single day. This is one of the ways I feel that Jesus is calling me to daily “take up my cross” and follow Him (Luke 9:23). I am learning to say “no” to good things so that I can say “yes” to better things...or even to nothing at all, so that my life will be less cluttered. If you struggle with “busyness” and not feeling like there are enough hours in the day to get it all done, then I’m writing this for both of us right now.
“BUSY” IS A BADGE
The truth is that there are genuinely NOT enough hours in the day to get everything done that we feel compelled to do, either by our own standards or by the standards of the culture we live in. Even if we are amazing at prioritizing and great at staying focused, there’s more to do than we could possibly get done. We were never meant to constantly exist beyond our capacity, but here we all are…
Our society glorifies busyness. More meetings on our calendar must indicate a higher level of importance. “Busy” is, in fact, a badge many of us wear to tell others that we really matter.
If you think of all the things that contribute to your over-packed schedule, you’d probably conclude that most of them are necessary or good things. Many of them probably even bring you joy! But packing our schedules beyond capacity comes at a cost, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
When I read, I also write in my books. I highlight, I underline, I circle, I put notes all over the margins. I am always so grateful when a page has lots of margin. Not only does it give space for my eyes to rest, it also gives me room to spill the ink of my thoughts in the white spaces if I need to. Life is like those pages in a book. We don’t have to fill up the blank spaces. We need to know they’re there for moments of rest or in case we have something truly meaningful we want to add.
“BUSY” IS NOT LIKE JESUS
You may have discovered that Jesus was never too busy. He was never in a big hurry. He kept intentional margin in His life, and He was available when it mattered. Jesus practiced the spiritual discipline of simplicity, not only in what He owned, but in how He used His time. In fact, in the familiar story of Mary and Martha, He praises Mary’s decision to forgo the hustle and hurry and just be with Him (Luke 10:41-42). Jesus doesn’t require our striving; He just asks us to “be.”
Because my perpetual goal is to be more like Jesus, I am spending this year working on simplifying my schedule. I have prayed about what I could possibly let go of – even good things – so that I have more time to spend in the presence of God, more time to spend with my children and husband, and more time to spontaneously “show up” for opportunities in my life as they present themselves. I want to have margin in my life, just like Jesus did. And just like Mary did.
Make it Personal: This morning, I made a list of all the recurring activities in my life which take up space in my schedule and in my mind. My plan this week is to pray about what I can cut out so that I can live more simply. If you are feeling tired and overwhelmed, would you consider doing the same? God is so faithful to honor our prayers when we seek to unbind ourselves and live more wholly, exactly as He created us to live.
Pray: Father, You know how overburdened and overwhelmed I am. That is not the example You left for me, Jesus, nor is it how You have created me to live my life. I ask, in Jesus’ Name, that You would help me to hold my earthly priorities loosely so that You can replace them with the sacred assignments You have prepared for me. Amen.
Read: Matthew 11:28-30; Psalm 127:2; Ecclesiastes 3:1-14
Weekly Memory Verse: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV