One thing
When my daughter Leah went to college to study music education, part of her course work was a weekly private lesson with James Madison University’s premier violin instructor, Wanchi. Wanchi used to have the last name Huang, but apparently her celebrity status has outgrown that. At any rate, she is quite a talented musician, having performed at such places as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and others, so we were thrilled when she auditioned Leah, just 16 years old, and wanted her to attend JMU and be part of her private violin studio.
In addition to musical instruction, Wanchi was full of life advice. Once during a lesson she stopped and asked Leah (who is tall and thin), “Leah, you eat?” Leah answered, “Wanchi, I eat like a man,” which was the truth. In her freshman year Leah used to eat breakfast with the football team, mostly because they were the only ones in the dining hall at that early hour, so they might as well share a meal, right?
Another time Wanchi asked, “Leah, you have boyfriend?” and Leah replied that no, she did not have time for a boyfriend. Wanchi said, “Good. Boys are bad. They only want your one thing.” As a parent of a just-turned-17 college student, I appreciated this advice.
I was reminded of that conversation today when I read what David wrote in Psalm 27:
4 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after;
For the boys Wanchi was talking about, “your one thing” was their focus. It was what drove them to pursue someone. David also desired one thing, but it was a very different one thing. It was what motivated him to seek God.
… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
David’s desire was to dwell in the house of the Lord, but it wasn’t just to sit there and say he did it or to feel like he’d arrived. No, the purpose was to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.
But there was a reason beyond even that. In the next verse he says,
5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
David desired to dwell in the Lord’s house and behold his beauty and enquire in his temple because he knew God would hide him in his time of trouble. He knew God would set him up on a rock in a safe place. God would be his sure foundation, his unmovable base no matter what was going on around him.
David obviously wrote this psalm when he was dealing with enemies; he referred to the wicked, his enemies and foes, and a host encamped against him. He said even if war rose up against him, he would be confident in this: that the Lord was his light and his salvation. David knew where to turn in difficult times.
But David wasn’t the only person to desire one thing. There was Mary, of Mary-and-Martha fame. Jesus came to visit and the house was full of people who needed food and care, so Martha was flitting about, doing all the things and meeting all the physical needs and feeling pretty self-righteous about it.
When she complained to Jesus that he should make Mary help her, Jesus replied that Martha was “careful and troubled about many things.” He said,
… one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Martha chose to serve people, which isn’t a bad thing in itself. I mean, somebody has to cook the meals, right? But Martha was full of worry about it. Maybe she worried that she couldn’t do it all. Or maybe it was that she wouldn’t be appreciated. Or perhaps she was exhausting herself and needed some of the Savior’s rest but didn’t want to admit she had limits. Either way she was troubled.
But Mary chose the one thing that Jesus said was needful—sitting at his feet and listening. That one thing was Mary’s choice, a good choice, and it would stay with her forever.
People’s appreciation for Martha would fade. Her good works would be forgotten, and she would have to keep doing more and serving more to earn new accolades. The rewards of her choice were short-lived.
But Jesus’ words in Mary’s ears would never fade. No one would be able to take away what Mary learned from Jesus. She chose the one thing that was needful.
Lord, help me choose that one thing today.