What is necessary? Being loved and the power to focus
“Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “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 10:40–42
There is no other statement that echos so profoundly than “what is necessary?”. Our lives are full of many things we feel we need to do to get ahead and prove our worth. The truth is that you don’t have to save the world. You don’t have to justify your worth by pre-eminence. You don’t have to earn love through your work or be the embodiment of success that out society demands that you be. You don’t have assume the image of success that the world presents to you. The only thing God requires of you is intimacy. You are the prize…you are the gift.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, an old man in his wisdom begins to challenge everything that he once found meaningful but in the end was meaningless. In this way, the wisdom of Ecclesiastes is a chisel for our souls and a cautionary tale on wasting our life on vain and meaningless pursuits.
If I could distill the wisdom written in the book of Ecclesiastes to its core message, it would be that insecurity and ego ARE the ultimate distractions. Solomon (the writer we think) goes through all of his pursuits of wealth, political success, work, and even wisdom but in his old age reflects on the meaninglessness of it all. It was all “chasing the wind”, or in other words, a distraction. When I reflect on the times in my life when i was least healthy and productive, it was moments where my actions were fueled by fear, insecurity, and ego filled busyness. I ended up losing myself in someone else’s agenda, or to my insecurity, or spending so much energy trying to prove myself to others that I found myself wondering how i arrived at the life I was living.
Jesus’ wisdom and love often manifests itself in how it simplifies the world for us. This is the reason why Jesus said the following: “I am the vine, and you are the branches, no man can bear fruit apart from me”. Resting in His love is a remedy for the distractions that kill spiritual productivity. Our relationship and intimacy with Him is the clarifying power that frees us from the pursuit of meaningless things. Live life as though you know how much you are loved, resting in His benevolent arms. It in that space you find clarity and freedom from the incessant and distracting voice of your insecurities.
Many leaders have neglected their children to validate their worth by pursuing status and positions of power. Politicians have acquired power to satiate their egos, to the detriment of the people they lead. Many people fail to pursue their visions because they fear the potential humiliation of failure, but in fearing failure become ineffective. Many times leading others requires a kind of clarity that easily thwarted by ego, clarity that can only found in a courage rooted in knowing how much we are loved.
“It is being intimate with God and knowing that you are loved that provides the security and clarity to focus on what matters. What if what you do if you knew you were perfectly loved? This is the most powerful clarifying question.”
Build with Humanity’s daily meditations are reflections for community leaders, dreamers, and neighbors that seek to be better people for themselves and the world. We believe the future of home and community is deeply tied to our human capacity for connection, healing, and embodying an empathetic perspective. Please follow me for short 5 min reflections every week. Brannon Veal
