Every homemaker falls somewhere between being too lazy or too busy - hopefully right in the middle. Most of the time I'm guilty of swinging the pendulum too far to the right. Being an over-achiever has a much more pious ring to it than "sloth," don't you think? The truth is, there's no honor in being a distracted homemaker.
The Martha of the Bible was probably very much like the Martha Stewart-type today: her house always filled with the aroma of freshly baked cookies, floors you could like ice cream off of (hand-churned, of course), a plentiful garden with plants that never died prematurely, and neatly ironed bed sheets. It almost seems... thankless of the Lord to describe her preparations for Jesus' visit as a distraction!
However, it wasn't Martha's clean house and 5-star meal that was the problem. Jesus' concern was that she paid more attention to household chores than she did to Himself. How often am I not guilty of the very same thing? Hurriedly braiding Charity's hair on a Sunday morning during Bible reading so we can be on time for Church, cutting devotions short so I can make sure the housework gets done before our guests arrive, skipping Scripture memorization, just this once, because the kids are getting antsy or I'm too tired...
I tell myself it's because I'm doing something for the Lord so it doesn't seem so bad that I'm not spending time with Him. Jesus responds to Martha's fretting with warm, wise words:
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42If I were Martha, I probably would have burst into tears at Jesus words and let supper burn on the stove! My hypothetical reaction speaks volumes of the state of my heart and where it ought to be.
The "one thing needful" is time with the Lord. As a wife mother to small children, and a homemaker, I sometimes wonder where in the day I'm going to find the time to make that happen. The Lord's response to Martha takes away any of the pressures that seem to get in the way. If we can find the time to manage and create all that makes for a hospitable home, than we have time enough to spend with the Lord. More important than serving bread at our table, is our willingness to be served by the Bread of Life Himself.