A Spiritual Strategy: Choosing Mary Over Martha

Drawing from Luke 10:38-42, this teaching holds up Mary and Martha as a mirror for the coming year, urging a spiritual strategy that prioritizes Christ Himself over even good activity done for Him. Mary’s posture—sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening—shows what Jesus calls “better”: being with Him before doing for Him. Martha’s diligence is honored, yet her busyness becomes a caution: good tasks can quietly replace the best thing, communion with Christ. The call is to reorient the calendar and the heart so that listening to the Lord becomes the first movement of every day.

Four steps shape that strategy. First, listen to the Lord. Regular, unhurried engagement with Scripture is presented as the primary means of hearing God, with compelling data showing how consistent Bible intake transforms both inner life and outward behavior. Second, do not mistake distraction for devotion. Serving matters, but pouring out without first receiving from Christ leaves souls depleted; full schedules can conceal starving hearts. Third, serve from God’s approval, not for it. The gospel grounds identity in Christ’s finished work, freeing believers from the exhausting cycle of trying to earn divine favor through performance. Service then flows from assurance, not anxiety. Fourth, find rest in the Lord. Busyness is not faithfulness; rest is found by coming to Jesus, taking His easy yoke, and learning to abide in Him.

A compassionate invitation addresses those not yet in Christ: the story of a perfectly just and perfectly loving King who bears the lashes for His guilty daughter paints the cross with striking clarity. Salvation is gift, not achievement; rest in Christ begins with repentance and faith. Practical next steps land the charge: begin daily Scripture in James, identify and replace a distraction with a spiritual discipline, repent of approval-chasing, and for those ready, trust Christ today. The overall aim is not merely to do more for God in the new year, but to become more like Christ by choosing the one necessary thing that will not be taken away.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Sit and listen before you serve. Mary chose presence over productivity. Listening to Jesus forms the heart that later serves wisely, gently, and with joy. When “being with” precedes “doing for,” service becomes worship rather than a substitute for it. Start the day at His feet, and the day will take its cues from Him. [46:28]
• 2. Don’t baptize distraction as devotion. Not every church activity or good task is obedience; some are avoidance dressed in religious clothes. A full calendar can conceal an empty soul, and you cannot pour from a dry cup. Choose the better portion first, then serve from overflow rather than exhaustion. [52:20]
• 3. Serve from God’s settled approval. The cross secures acceptance; service does not. When identity rests in Christ’s finished work, serving becomes free of scoreboard pressure and comparison. Work hard, but not to be loved—work because you are loved. [56:07]
• 4. Trade busyness for Christ’s rest. Busyness is not the same as faithfulness, and weariness is not a virtue. Jesus alone offers a yoke that fits and a burden that lifts. Learn His rest through unhurried prayer, dependence, and delight, and let everything else flow from that center. [62:00]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:14] - Do you have a strategy?
• [39:00] - Spiritual strategy for the new year
• [40:22] - Reading Luke 10:38-42
• [42:05] - Mary and Martha in context
• [43:27] - Martha: the doer, the host
• [44:38] - Mary: the attentive listener
• [46:28] - Step 1: Listen to the Lord
• [49:19] - The Power of Four in Scripture
• [51:21] - Husbands, protect her quiet time
• [52:20] - Step 2: Don’t confuse devotion
• [56:07] - Step 3: Serve from approval
• [60:36] - Step 4: Find rest in Christ
• [63:17] - The Just and Loving King
• [67:33] - Practical next steps and invitation

Bible reading

- Luke 10:38-42

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 few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Observation questions

1. In Luke 10:39, what two actions describe Mary’s posture toward Jesus? What do those actions reveal about her priorities?
2. In Luke 10:40, what words describe Martha’s state and activity? What specific request does she make of Jesus?
3. In Luke 10:41-42, how does Jesus respond to Martha? What is the “one” necessary thing He highlights, and what promise does He attach to it (“will not be taken away”)?
4. What changes were observed when people engaged Scripture four or more days a week (the “Power of Four”)? Name two or three from the list. [49:40]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Jesus call Mary’s choice “better”? In what ways does this reshape what faithfulness looks like when life is full? [46:28]
2. What is the difference between being “distracted by preparations” and being truly devoted? How can good things quietly replace the best thing? [52:20]
3. What changes when a person serves from God’s settled approval rather than serving for approval? How would this shift affect comparison, pressure, or burnout? [56:07]
4. Jesus offers a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. Practically, how is resting in Him different from trying to find rest by staying busy or self-medicating with distractions? [01:02:00]

Application questions

1. When time gets tight, what’s the first thing you tend to cut from your day? What would it look like to keep an unbreakable appointment to meet with Jesus first, even if something else has to go? Decide your place, time, and plan for this week. [47:30]
2. How many days did you engage Scripture last week? What simple steps would move you to 4+ days—place, time block, plan (e.g., one chapter in James), and a person to encourage you? Share your plan. [49:19]
3. Look at your calendar. Which activity might be avoidance dressed up as devotion? What one distraction will you replace with a spiritual practice (prayer, Scripture, fasting, silence) over the next seven days? Be specific. [01:08:10]
4. Where do you feel pressure to perform—home, church, work? What would serving from assurance (already loved and approved in Christ) look like in that exact spot this month? [56:07]
5. What are your warning signs that your soul is tired (irritability, insomnia, numbness, constant hurry)? Choose one way to practice Christ’s rest this week—unhurried prayer, a true Sabbath block, a quiet walk with no phone—and name when you’ll do it. [01:02:00]
6. For households: what is one change you can make to protect each person’s quiet time with the Lord (wake-time shift, kid coverage, chore swap)? Husbands, what specific step will you take to guard your wife’s time with Jesus? [51:21]
7. If you have not yet trusted Christ, what is keeping you from resting in Him today? Would you like to talk through your questions with the group and consider starting James and asking Jesus to save you? [01:07:33]