The One Thing

The book and the Bible story

There is a Wall Street Journal #1 bestselling book by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan called “The One Thing: The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results.” The book is definitely a worthwhile read. It’s quick and easy (I first read it in an afternoon in a hotel room) while packed with wisdom and helpful graphics to get the authors’ point across.

They build the book around one deceptively simple question, what they call the Focusing Question:

What is the ONE THING I can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

The rest of the book is spend fleshing out how to use this kind of laser focus to succeed at your One Thing and exploring the things that get in the way of staying focused on the One Thing.

The book is packed not only with the authors’ wisdom, but with several helpful quotes from other writers on the subject. Here is a sampling of my favorites:

Be like a postage stamp—stick to one thing until you get there. —Josh Billings

There can only be one most important thing. Many things may be important, but only one can be the most important. —Ross Garber

Success demands singleness of purpose. —Vince Lombardi

There is an art to clearing away the clutter and focusing on what matters most. It is simple and it is transferable. It just requires courage to take a different approach. —George Anders

People do not decide their futures; they decide their habits and their habits decide their futures. —F.M. Alexander

The things which matter most must never be at the mercy of the things which matter least. ——Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

And then, my personal favorite:

The things which are the most important don’t always scream the loudest. —Bob Hawke

Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash

But I promised you a Bible story, too, didn’t I?

Here’s the scene from Luke 10: Jesus and his followers show up in a village and a lady named Martha opens her home to them. With no cell phones and no way to call ahead, we can imagine that this is likely an unexpected visit with his 12 followers, and probably several more women and others who didn’t make it into the “top 12” listed in the Gospels.

How would you react in this situation? 13-20+ unexpected guests, hungry and dirty, and likely needing to spend the night. If you’re anything like me, my identity as “hostess with the mostest” immediately kicks into overdrive and I’m cooking and cleaning and offering drinks and making up beds while sending someone to Kroger or at least to go pick up some takeout.

Now delete Kroger, Walmart, Uber Eats, Door Dash, and all restaurants. Making dinner involves catching some chickens or killing a goat or finding someone who has already done so. Delete running water from your home. Drinkable water to offer the guest as well as water for washing feet (much less bodies) needs to go be pulled up from the local well and toted back in jars. In JARS.

PANIC.

Right?

She’s got a sister named Mary, who Martha was confident should be helping her with all the hostessing and preparations for their guests. PROBLEM. Her sister is no help at all. In fact, she is in the living room, breaking current culture and customs, sitting at Jesus’ feet, learning from him right alongside the men he has called to be his disciples, or apprentices. It cannot be overstated how counter-cultural and taboo her actions were, eclipsed only by Jesus’ apparent willingness to allow her sit at his feet, and in so doing accepting her as his apprentice too.

Luke tells us that while Mary was listening to Jesus, Martha was distracted.

I think it’s important to take a minute here and imagine Martha’s predicament. In an honor and shame culture, taking care of guests and practicing hospitality was a BIG deal, even bigger than in today’s culture. I believe that Martha would have loved to sit at Jesus’ feet and learn from him too, but she was worried about dinner and beds and water for washing and wine for drinking. She was probably borrowing plates and cups for neighbors and welcoming Jesus in the best way she knew—by making him and his followers comfortable in her home and providing for their needs.

Luke cuts thru all the chatter and writes, “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.”

Don’t we all do the same thing? On a Sunday morning, there is coffee to make and sermon notes to hand out and people to welcome. There are songs to be practiced and a sermon to be preached. When we welcome a Bible study or small group into our home there are floors to be swept and toys to be put away and snacks to be made or purchased and set out for guests to enjoy.

When we invite a family over for dinner and community, wouldn’t it would be a bit awkward to say, “Welp, there’s no dinner tonight. I was sitting at Jesus’ feet instead.” There is no universe where I would ever say that to my guests…I guess my inner Martha is showing!

“But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.”

She wasn’t distracted by anything bad. She was simply distracted by the good when there was something better available to her.

Finally Martha can’t stand it anymore.

After stewing for minutes or hours (Luke doesn’t tell us which—I probably would have lasted 30 minutes, tops), She walks in, interrupting Jesus’ teaching and registers her complaint: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Then Jesus told Mary to get up and help her sister, right? Nope.

Then Jesus waved his hand and dinner was magically ready, water jugs filled and wine ready to pour? Wrong again.

Jesus looks at Martha and sees her heart.

Her troubled, stressed out and now ticked-off-at-her-sister heart.

I hear kindness in his voice and see the love shining in his eyes as he sees her, and loves her. I hear him slow his speech and soften his tone, co-regulating with this wonderful, generous woman whose sincere desire to love him and serve him well has mutated into anxiety, stress, distraction and anger.

“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.”

I appreciate these thoughts I found online from Coffee with God: Stop serving and Sit:

The work of serving Jesus must always flow from my sitting at His feet. The deception of religious obedience that serves from motives of ‘must’, will always complain about the lack of efforts of others. There is no joy in their serving for its motivation is not from a personal encounter. The life of a follower of Jesus is lived in the intimacy of his presence and then finds expressions in service because of the beauty, boldness, and love released from the encounter. If you don’t have time to sit then don’t stand up and start serving, it will only turn ugly for you and others.

Another source suggested that Jesus might have even used a play on words, as other translations talk about Mary choosing “the good part” or “the good portion,” which were words associated with meals and serving sizes. This play on words would suggest that Jesus was the one serving up the banquet as he taught, not Martha making food in the kitchen. Thus this can be called a “story of two suppers.”

Here’s a whole list of Jesus’ words from Luke 10:42 in different translations to give you a better word picture of what he was communicating to Martha:

but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (NASB)

One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her. (MSG)

Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her. (NCV)

But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. (NKJV)

but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her. (AMP)

There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her. (NLT)

Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her. (TPT)

But you must set your heart on the one thing that matters. That is what Healing Tears (Mary) has done, and I will not take it from her. (FNTV)

Only One Thing—The One Thing.

Necessary. Needed. Essential. Important. Most important. Worth being concerned about. One Thing that matters.

What is it?

Presence over performance.

Attention over activity.

Engagement over efficiency.

Devotion over distraction.

And of course that One Thing is a Who, not a What.

We sit at Jesus’ feet. We sit with the One Thing that truly matters. We listen to our Rabbi. We absorb his teachings, learning from him so that we can mimic his lifestyle.

And that One Thing is what clarifies the rest.

When we get the One Thing right, everything else aligns. Everything else becomes easier or simply unnecessary.

So I’ll ask you this question:

What is your One Thing?

And a more uncomfortable question:

Does your daily life, your “to do” list and your Google calendar reflect the absolute importance of this One Thing?

I’ll finish by repeating one of the quotes I shared earlier:

Have a great week.

Love,

Heather (In pursuit of the One Thing—the One)