Moving Fast But Missing Out

Have you ever heard the story of the college professor who gave his class a test where all they had to do to pass it was to write their name on it and then sit there? Imagine that. Such an assignment should be super easy, right? Well, apparently not. As the story goes, the professor told the class to do two things. First, write their name on the paper, and, second, read all the instructions before taking the test. 

However, in a rush to answer all the questions they knew, most of the students passed up the instructions at the top that said, “DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ON THIS TEST. Quietly remain in your seats for the rest of the class period.” The few of them that did follow directions and did read the instructions looked around, confused at first, but then realized the purpose of the test wasn’t to test them on their knowledge of the class content but to see how well they paid attention to detail. There was a bigger lesson to be learned. Most of the class failed the test that day simply because they were too rushed and distracted to slow down and do what the instructor asked them to do. 

The Bible character, Martha, could probably relate to these people. Maybe you do as well. Martha was so concerned with everything else she thought was important that she missed the most important One of all, Jesus. Martha was so concerned about doing things FOR Jesus that she wasn’t actually taking time to sit, rest, and be WITH him. 

When life is stressful and there’s a lot of things to do, do you find yourself like Martha, letting good things distract you from the most important thing? Or are you like Mary who spends time with the Savior?