When what you want is just not the same as the next person

It's really great when you know your purpose in life. And really great when you find others who are going in the same direction as you are. But it's not so great when you find out one day that, their commitment to what you wish to do is just not the same. I mean, your priorities will never be the same as the next person. And just because it's not the same, it doesn't mean you expect them to rearrange it so it's the same as yours. Not all of us have the same important things.

I've always remembered this story about Mary and Martha. Martha was the sister who was distracted with preparations to receive Jesus into their home while Mary was the one who sought his teachings. Because of this, Martha asked Jesus why had he not told Mary to help her in the kitchen. But Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better thing and that will not be taken away from her.

I remembered a lot of teachings from this story. The first was the more obvious. Isn't it more crucial to learn everything you can from Jesus while he was still in flesh and blood on earth? Or in today's world, isn't it more important to spend time learning and getting to know Jesus rather than be worries and flustered about your day-to-day life? Because, Jesus teaches you about life and more importantly, eternal life. (For instance, he teaches us not to worry. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?)

The second less obvious teaching was, who are you compared to the two sisters? Are you Martha the worry-wart? Or are you Mary, the one who knows what's truly important to her? Even so, what Jesus said meant that while Mary had chosen the better thing, Martha has her place as well. To Martha, preparing food and comfort for her guests is important. To Mary, it was learning everything she can from Jesus. So, while Mary chose the better thing, it doesn't mean Martha hasn't chosen the right thing. I can't find the passage right now but I know that in a later event, Martha was still serving guests but this time she had not bugged Mary to help her. It really means that, you have your gifts and in the same event, you might not be doing the same thing as the next person.

Everyone has their important thing and you don't go telling someone else to do your important thing.

While it's great for those who knows what are their important things, there are still many of us who are still looking for it. We're comfortable to a certain extent with how we live but there's always that nagging feeling that there's more to it. Sometimes we just need to reach out and grab it. Or just take a bold step in a direction to find out if that's really important to us. Or take a step back to realize that maybe what we're currently doing isn't meant for us.

Sometimes I truly understand how someone else gets upset when they're stood up or when no one turns up for a meeting they plan or a practice they've scheduled. I really get it if you're annoyed that someone made a commitment and failed to fulfill it.

But what I don't get is the unfair comments they say after everything you've done. Really makes you realize that, it's not the many good things you've done but the one time you mess up that matters to everyone else.