The story is found in the Bible in Luke chapter 10:

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She 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 come and help me.”                 

But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-41 NLT).

Notice, first, that it was Martha, not Mary, who invited Jesus to their home. So, the big dinner she was preparing was her idea, not Mary’s. Note, also, that the work was not trivial. Luke describes it as diakonia—the New Testament word for “ministry.” Simply put, she had attempted more than she could handle on her own. Jesus said she was “worried and upset”—that is, “pulled in opposite directions” over details that weren’t nearly as important as listening to His teaching.[1]

“Her fault was not that she served,” observed Charles Spurgeon. “The condition of a servant well becomes every Christian. Her fault was that she grew [distracted]…, so that she forgot him and only remembered the service.”[2]

Lord, help me to learn from Martha and remember that “While the world applauds achievement,” You “desire companionship.”[3]

[1] Thoughts gleaned from Joanna Weaver, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook Press, 2002).

[2] Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (Nashville: Nelson, 1994) January 24, Evening.

[3] Weaver, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, 9.