“But Martha was distracted by her many tasks.” - Luke 10:40a

“We have become so engrossed in the work of the Lord hat we have forgotten the Lord of the work.” - A. W. Tozer

“Listen; watch as I do the motions,” I admonished the teens. We were preparing to take rural Kentucky teens on a mission trip to New Orleans. My job was to present the praise and worship each morning at the children’s mission center. As a former kindergarten teacher, I knew we’d have to capture and hold the children’s attention during music time or there would be chaos. I led the teens in practicing the zany movements. i sang loudly as I approached a guy who wasn’t bouncing as energetically as I thought he should be.

“Get with it,” I whispered fiercely in his ear. “We need to make this good for those kids.” His movements became peppier, but I suddenly felt ashamed. Was I teaching our teens how to control the preschoolers we were going to minister to, or was I teaching our teens how to lead others in praise and worship?

Lord, may we worship, even as we lead rehearsals.