Are you letting the cares of the world pull you away from those you care about?
Imagine having the entire cast of Shark Tank sitting in your office, just hanging out and ready to give you sage advice about helping your company prosper. However, instead of being in your office, you choose to run around like a chicken with its head cut off making sure everything is set up for the paparazzi, TV cameras, and the special VIP dinner you have planned. Not a wise move.
This is exactly where Martha found herself when Jesus himself came to her house. She was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” and missed the golden opportunity to sit with the Son of God and learn. Don’t think for a minute I’m comparing the Shark Tank stars to Jesus — rather, I’m comparing the situation. I specifically chose this comparison because, as entrepreneurs, we are trained to spot opportunities and seize them, so of course we are going to tap the wisdom of our favorite Shank Tank stars. Yet we miss golden opportunities with our spouses and children because we get distracted with the busyness of our businesses.
Just recently, I was having a delightful evening with my family in the living room. We intentionally do not have a TV in that room (hot tip) so we can focus on each other, play games, talk, rest,
or just sit by the fire. You may also remember from last month’s cell phone sabbatical article that I purposely leave my phone in my office so I can have undistracted family time. As the evening progressed, I had an idea to share some recent pictures with my children; I did a no-no and went back into my office to get my phone. It started out well, the kids and I were on the couch together as we scrolled through the pictures on my phone, then disaster struck!
Suddenly, my phone was bombarded with texts and the messages came over on top of the pictures. I did my best to ignore them, but my will power simply is not that strong. I told the kids, “Give me a second,” (yeah, right) and began to answer these urgent texts that really were not that urgent at all. My daughter took that time to retrieve from her room a crocheted scarf that she had just made and was excited to show me. As you already can imagine, my “one sec” turned into 10 minutes, and my daughter and son both realized that Dad had checked out. Sadly for me, so did they. By the time I resurfaced from the text world and looked up, my family was gone and had engaged in other things. I called out to my daughter to ask about the scarf and she sadly said, “Nevermind, daddy.”
I broke one of my cardinal rules and paid a huge a price for it. I let the cares of the world pull me away from those I really care about. I missed a golden opportunity to praise and encourage my daughter for her creativity and hard work. I missed the opportunity to enjoy a night of restoration and living water for my soul by delighting in my family uninterrupted.
Jesus says in Luke 41–42: “Martha, Martha, 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 from her.”
The investment of time you make in your family can never be taken away and it pays the greatest returns. Invest your time where it counts before it’s too late. Take action now and enjoy the benefits.
