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but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.
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Today’s message
In the stands, arms raised, screens lit. At the table, the plate cools while the camera searches for the angle. And the conversation with the son is lost because a notification just appeared. The preacher showed: we no longer live whole moments; the mind, saturated with information, tries to do two things and does neither well. The problem is not memory — it's our processing. We are seeing on the screen what we could see with our eyes. That's why we walk tired, anxious, fragmented, without true rest.
Luke tells that Martha opened the door and received Jesus; Mary sat at his feet to listen. The scene is simple and definitive: priority. Martha, busy with many things, loses the main thing precisely in the presence of the Main One. The preacher emphasized: Mary chose one thing to do and did it fully. It's not neglect; it's order in the heart. When Jesus is in the room, the dishes can wait. The gospel reorganizes the house from the inside: presence before performance, listening before production, one necessary thing now.
The method
- Take it out of your head and write it down: ideas, pending tasks, and pains. Then, return to what matters now.
- Do a mental Ctrl+Alt+Del: identify open tasks and finish what doesn't fit at the moment.
- In the presence of God and with family, cut distractions: put away the phone, silence notifications.
- Choose one thing at a time and do it fully: eat, converse, pray, listen — without parallels.
- Decide what can be done today and what can wait; organize priorities with courage.
Today's word is an invitation to live complete moments.
To explain, he used computing: information is the hard drive; processing is the RAM. The world dumps data at a click; what stalls is not a lack of content, it's the mind without processing. That's why writing it down frees you: you take the weight off now and save it for the right time. And when you arrive at the service — or the table — close the internal 'tabs'. Finish, finish, finish. God doesn't need you online in everything; He wants you present where He is acting.
Diagnosis of our time
- Humans were not made to do more than one thing at a time.
- Our mind has become a minefield, where we can't even sleep properly.
- 70% of valuable internet content is consumed by women, less than 30% by men.
- Most children by the eighth grade are already using some type of medication for concentration.
- People see less, for less time, and learn less because they are distracted.
James reminds us that life is a vapor; the preacher called this living complete moments. Mary did not chase after later; she surrendered to the now with Jesus. Do the same. At the table: savor. In the hug: presence. In the service: listening. The rest can be noted for tomorrow. Organize priorities and anxiety loses breath. By choosing the better part, you lose nothing; you gain what will not be taken away.
Did you know
- In the Jewish world, sitting at the feet of a master was a posture of discipleship; Mary assumes this position (Acts 22:3).
- Martha, Mary, and Lazarus lived in Bethany, near Jerusalem; Jesus often stayed there (John 11–12).
- In Luke, the story of Martha and Mary appears right after the Good Samaritan, uniting service and listening as marks of discipleship.
Key phrases
- The problem is not memory, but our processing of all this.
- Humans were not made to do more than one thing at a time.
- Our mind has become a minefield, where we can't even sleep properly.
- Do you want to be less anxious? Then be more organized with your priorities.
Translated from the Portuguese original.
Seek
To seek today
Go deeper
Go deeper
A Less Anxious Life | Deive Leonardo
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