One Thing Is Necessary

By Roy S. Askins

Throughout the month of September, The Lutheran Witness will be sharing articles from our August 2020 print issue on topics related to religion and politics. Stay tuned to LW online to follow along.

Anxious and worried

“Tell her to help me,” Martha commanded Jesus (Luke 10:40). Her anxiety and troublesome cares drove her demand of Jesus. Household concerns consumed her as she sought to serve her Lord. “Martha was distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40). “Distracted” makes it sound as though Martha was simply lost in notifications on her phone. The burdens of the day had, in fact, overwhelmed her, consumed her. She had become so anxious and burdened that she neglected to sit at her Lord’s feet — as Mary was doing — and receive His Word.

Jesus taught His disciples not to worry or be anxious about their lives, what they would eat or drink (Luke 12:2). God clothes the flowers of the field and feeds the birds of the air; He will certainly provide for His beloved children (Matt. 6:26–30).

When Jesus teaches on anxiety and worry, He is not simply expressing pious platitudes. You are not to worry about what you will eat or drink; you are not to worry about what you will wear.

And yet, a number of problems drive our anxieties and fears. Perhaps we fear that we will not like what God provides. God promises to provide for us, but instead of a feast of steak and well-aged wine, He might provide beans and rice. We fear that we will miss out on the good life. This fear of missing out, or FOMO, explains our eagerness to check our electronic devices every time they buzz, ding, chime or squawk.

The real problem, however, is the ultimate one: We suffer with anxiety and troubles because we trust in something other than God to provide for our well-being and happiness. “One thing is necessary,” Jesus told Martha. “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken from her” (Luke 10:42).

Anxiety in 2020¹

Pictures of pandemics, riots and looting, political chaos — and who knows what else is coming — have not reduced stress and anxiety rates around the world. Our desire to be informed drives us to read every notification, article and social media post plastered all over our chiming digital devices. This makes us even more anxious.

What effect will the upcoming election have on the economy, on Medicare, on an already polarized and angry nation? When will COVID-19 go away? Ever? Will the question of racism ever be solved? Am I a racist? You know the list of fears that haunts you.

The answers to these questions, we are told, rest with the experts, the journalists, the news anchors and more. These days, even our Facebook friends have become experts on everything from health care to constitutional law.

We could spend our entire day scrolling through our newsfeeds, reading articles and catching up on the latest expert news. And we would become more anxious and troubled.

One necessary thing

While it is not wrong to watch the news or read articles about the election, as the people of God we do not begin with the news or let the experts direct how we see the world.

We listen to the voice of Jesus (John 10:14–17). He knows everything about us. He knows the color of our hair — even their number. He knows how much pigment He put into our skin.

Jesus knows how we look at others and how others see us. He knows the fears and anxieties with which we struggle, and the idols to which we cling for comfort. He knows when we trust in political leaders and the news for comfort instead of His steadfast and eternal Word.

And for all of this, He came to lay down His life for us. He came to earth, suffered and died that we might have the one necessary thing: Him.

Lutheran perspective

God’s Word does not promise to satisfy your craving for an answer to every problem. The Word of God is not a manual for solving the political, social or medical chaos swirling around us. That does not mean, however, that we ought to forgo hearing and receiving God’s Word.

The Lutheran Witness seeks to help you interpret the world from a Lutheran perspective. There are at least two ways to think of perspective here. You might think of your Lutheran perspective as a set of spectacles you can take on and off as you look at the world.

If the Lutheran perspective, however, is just a lens that tints your vision, it can be removed and replaced with a different perspective. Or, perhaps, be stacked with other perspectives like Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. And, if your Lutheran perspective is simply a set of lenses you are looking through, then you are not looking at the one thing needful. You are still watching, reading and consuming the same anxiety-inducing, idolatry-feeding content — simply with a Lutheran tint.

Rather, your Lutheran perspective is like a vista. You have doubtless seen them as you drive down the road; you pull over, hike up a small hill and watch the countryside open up before you. You get a better perspective on the situation. You are not looking through something; you are looking at something. Lutherans look to Jesus. Do not look at the news and chaos through Jesus. Rather, look at Jesus only (Matt. 17:8). Look and listen to the one thing necessary — Jesus Christ. Let us sit with Mary at the feet of Jesus, not worrying and fearful, anxious over the trials and tribulations of days yet to come, but confident and certain in the One who has already come and given His life for us.

At the feet of Jesus

Sitting at the feet of Jesus and hearing His Word has become a frightening and confusing prospect for many Christians. “Am I reading the right devotions? I need a study book to guide me through God’s Word.” How often have we chosen to spend time in the words of the latest and greatest celebrity theologian rather than the Word of God?

Sitting at the feet of Jesus does not require a flurry of fancy books or — dare I say it — even The Lutheran Witness. Sitting at the feet of Jesus with Mary means listening to God’s Word. Read your Bible, silently or out loud. Read it for family devotions. Read it before or after dinner, or both. Read it with your children and your spouse. Sit at the feet of Jesus every Sunday morning as the Word is proclaimed and the pastor preaches it. Hear the Word.

You may not understand most of it. You will not understand all of it. Few pastors claim to understand every passage of Scripture, and fewer still do. As you read, write down your questions. Take them to your pastor. Maybe you will get an answer; maybe you won’t. Not all of your questions must be answered on this side of the grave. Nevertheless, hear the Word. Listen to it.

There are many things you could be anxious and worried about — race relations, politics, pandemics and so much more. Only when we sit at the feet of Jesus, focus on Him and hear His Word can we get the right perspective. We only learn to love our neighbor because Christ loved us (1 John 4:13–21). We trust not in the legs of man (Psalm 147:10) or the power of princes (Psalm 118:9; 146:3) because we fear, love and trust in God above all things.

With our eyes thus focused on Jesus and our ears tuned to His Word, we can live in true peace, free from anxiety and trouble, regardless of the chaos around us. Jesus is the good portion, and He will not be taken from you.

¹ Note: This article first appeared in the August 2020 print issue of The Lutheran Witness.