When Life Gets Busy, Keep Abiding

It begins as soon as our feet hit the floor in the morning. Our minds start running through our to-do lists, and we mentally order our day. “First I’ll do this; then I’ll do that.” But even when we have everything in place, circumstances often dictate our next steps more than we do. Maybe that’s how Martha felt when Jesus stopped by for lunch.

When Jesus entered the town of Bethany, Martha was the first to welcome him into her home. As she prepared the meal, her sister, Mary, sat at Jesus’s feet and hung on his every word. Perhaps Martha intended to sit at Jesus’s feet after her work was done, but when her sister did not follow her priorities, she complained, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (Luke 10:40).

Jesus’s gracious response reordered Martha’s this-then-that priorities. “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). Martha’s work was important, but given the option of either spending time with Jesus or serving him, only one thing was necessary, and it wasn’t the lentil stew.

The order was clear: Sitting at Jesus’s feet took precedence over service. Jesus invited Martha out of the kitchen and into the living room. Before she fed others, she first needed her own soul fed.

Holy Leisure Before Holy Service

Christians have long wrestled with how to remain spiritually contemplative while loving and serving others, how to abide in Jesus amid life’s busyness. In the fourth century, Augustine reflected on the balance between devotion to God and service to neighbors. He wrote, “The love of truth seeks holy leisure; the necessity of love undertakes righteous activity” (City of God, 19.19). Augustine (like Jesus) reorients our priorities: holy leisure first, then holy service.

“Our irritation often reveals an attempt at righteous activity without first seeking holy leisure.”

The phrase holy leisure may be unfamiliar, but it captures the biblical idea of delighting and resting in God. When we think about leisure today, we might think of escape or entertainment. However, Augustine understood leisure differently. It was not doing nothing, but an active pursuit of goodness, truth, and beauty. Therefore, the soul filled with “love of truth” is not idle but is drawn into a restful devotion to Jesus. As we engage with spiritual disciplines, our souls find rest, or holy leisure. Leisure, then, is not the opposite of meaningful work, but the condition of the soul that makes our work meaningful.

Holy Leisure for Everyday Life

Holy leisure sounds lovely, but what does it look like in the middle of ordinary life? Many associate a contemplative life with a monastic one — long, uninterrupted hours in study and prayer. While that may be desirable to some, it’s unattainable for most. In our busy modern lives, is it possible to be both contemplative and active? Can we pursue holy leisure in our holy service? Our lives may be full of necessary work, but we don’t want to miss the “one thing” most necessary.

Pursuing holy leisure does not require withdrawing from responsibilities; it requires seeking Christ first where our lives naturally unfold — at home, at work, and in community.

1. At Home: Focus on Your First Attention

The order of our priorities is seen most clearly at home. Martha was right to serve, but because she had not first oriented her heart to Jesus, she was “anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). How often do we recognize a similar pattern in our service? We blame our frustrations on our schedules, interruptions, and endless demands. Yet our irritation often reveals something deeper: an attempt at righteous activity without first seeking holy leisure.

To pursue holy leisure at home, we begin the day with God and his word and return to him at key points throughout. We ask for his help to sit at his feet, even when we’re on the move. As we pause to pray throughout the day, we ask God to be our holy leisure, the wellspring from which our holy service flows.

2. At Work: Focus on Whom You Serve

Martha was focused on completing tasks rather than being in Jesus’s presence. But cultivating holy leisure at work often requires that we tap the brakes before we hit the gas. When we put holy service before holy leisure, we end up missing Jesus — the one thing necessary. Martha must have felt this when Jesus repeated, “Martha, Martha.” She had to stop and reconsider her “many things” in light of the one thing necessary.

“Holy leisure is not an excuse to do nothing, but a reordering of our priorities that puts first things first.”

Holy leisure is not an excuse to do nothing, but a reordering of our priorities that puts first things first (Matthew 6:33). Jesus pointed out that while Martha’s work provided temporary benefits, Mary’s good portion was permanent — it would “not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). To cultivate holy leisure in our work, we define success not by productivity but by our faithfulness to the one we ultimately serve.

3. In Community: Focus on Presence over Performance

One of the joys of Christian community is sharing a common love for Christ and a desire to serve him. Yet even in community, we can slip into a performance mindset — serving to be seen and approved rather than simply loving Christ and loving others. Martha likely felt the cultural expectations of hospitality, while Mary saw the unique privilege of receiving Jesus’s undivided attention. What started as a shared blessing (hosting Jesus together) soon exposed the sisters’ competing priorities.

We face similar pressures in our relationships today. Loving Jesus doesn’t automatically remove our desire to perform, but by seeking holy leisure, we grow in Christlikeness. This often looks like choosing presence over performance — slowing down, listening attentively, and genuinely enjoying the people God has placed around us.

Righteous Activity for His Name’s Sake

Mary’s focused attention on Jesus was her first priority, and Jesus said it was “the good portion” (Luke 10:42). By sitting at Jesus’s feet before she served, she enjoyed a spiritual meal she would remember long after her physical meal was forgotten. Mary chose Jesus over her sister, her guests, and the cultural expectations of her as a hostess — and Jesus affirmed this as the right choice.

We may not always live up to Mary’s example of contemplation before action, but we too can cultivate holy leisure in the middle of our everyday lives. As we sit at his feet and seek first his kingdom, our priorities are reordered. Our this-then-that approach to life doesn’t have to be at the mercy of our circumstances. We can pursue holy leisure and then undertake righteous activity for his name’s sake. When we do, Jesus will be our good portion — the one thing necessary.