If You Know What's Good for You by Gray Handwerk
It’s January. A new year has begun. And naturally my social media feed has been overtaken all month with videos, posts, and ads (so many ads!), all claiming to know what’s good for me.
Apparently, I should do squats after every meal. Something about controlling my blood sugar. And those meals should contain way more protein than is humanly possible to consume. I should take a whole cocktail of vitamins, though there is a lot of conflicting information about which ones, and how much. I should be getting at least 10,000 steps a day, and at least 8 hours of sleep -- oh and here is a 2 minute video about the fastest way to fall asleep. I should try that. I should take ice baths. I should walk barefoot on the grass every day, get some sun, but wear sunglasses and sunscreen, and sleep on this electric grounding mat. Why? Because somehow it’s good for me.
It probably IS good for me, or at least most of it probably is. I’ve tried a lot of these things (although not an electric grounding mat, and most certainly not an ice bath). Truth is, it’s good for me to do things that keep me moving and healthy. And the internet is FULL of ideas for keeping me moving and healthy these days. It seems like I’m spending a lot of time, effort, and money worrying about what’s good for me.
Is THAT good for me? Obsessing over what’s good for me?
I can tell you what HAS been good for me for the last few months, and that is participating in a small group study of the book, Companions in Christ. I highly recommend it, or any small group study, for that matter. It’s a 28-week group study of spiritual disciplines, and what it has, in various ways, been impressing on my heart is this truth:
“The nearness of God is my good.” (Psalm 73:28)
The study itself hasn’t actually mentioned this verse, but the Spirit keeps bringing it to my mind. Yes, exercise and healthy habits are good for me, and I should pursue them, but real goodness is found in the nearness of God.
I’m reminded of Martha in Luke 10:38-42. Jesus goes to visit Martha and Mary, and, as you may recall, Mary is sitting at Jesus’s feet and soaking it all in, hanging on his every divine word. Meanwhile Martha is doing a lot of important things, good things. Cleaning and cooking, making everything nice for Jesus’s visit, with probably 14 Pinterest tabs open with suggestions for the best fig loaf recipes and how to plump goat hair pillows just so.
And somewhere in the midst of this good work, Martha loses the plot, and her only actual interaction with the guest of honor is to complain and ask Jesus to tell her sister Mary to get up from just sitting there and DO SOMETHING to help. Surely it would be good if Mary could get up and help Martha!
You might remember that instead Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the BETTER part. He simply meant it was good for Mary to be with Jesus and enjoy his presence. The nearness of God is her good.
When I apply this lesson to my daily life, I realize that Jesus can’t possibly be saying that we should altogether stop doing the good things so that we can instead do the better thing. It’s not that I need to be a Mary instead of being a Martha. It’s not either/or; I think it’s both/and.
What I’m learning with my companions in Christ, while practicing spiritual disciplines and discovering fresh ways to be nearer to God, is how to balance both the being and the doing, both the Mary and the Martha. The being near to Christ WHILE navigating this busy life. Seeking after good things, loving others, serving others, and all the while remembering that Jesus is right here beside me, and that is Good itself.
What Martha was missing was Jesus’s presence in the midst of all the good things she was doing.
If I know what’s good for me, I will recognize that the foundation of all that is good is simply the nearness of the Lord. And enjoying being present with him.
So today, I’m going to try to remember Jesus’s presence right here in the room throughout my day. I’m going to try to talk to him more, while I’m cooking more protein, while I’m walking more steps, while I’m trying to fall asleep. Enjoying being in his presence in the midst of the doing.
But I’m also learning to cut Martha some slack. I noticed in Luke that Jesus sits with Mary, and he doesn’t call Martha out for all her busyness. He waits for her to come to him, complaining though she was. It didn’t matter how she came to him, but just that she came to him.
And I hear the tenderness in his voice as he tells her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary.” One thing: the nearness of God.
So if -- and by “if” I mean “when” -- I, like Martha, lose the plot today, I’m going to try again tomorrow. Because Jesus’s presence will be right here with me again -- tenderly saying my name, with compassion for my worrisome heart, inviting me to enjoy the better part. He’s near me through it all.
And the nearness of God is my good.
By Gray Handwerk