I'm very contemplative today, it happens sometimes... : )

Mary vs Martha,

Luke 10:38-42 (New International Version)
38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Reflections…


This seems so unfair to poor Martha doesn’t it? I mean take the same situation today. One person is busy , working hard to get the job done (so everyone might be fed, including Jesus), and yet it’s the one sitting at the feet of God (seemingly not working as hard as the other) that He says is better. Why? Is He an unfair God? Yet I find that people cannot help but react like Martha towards those who behave like Mary.

I used to be this way, you know. I did not like very much to give away the money I worked so hard to earn. I mean I gave my tithes and stuff and well I actually did give most of it away but I wasn’t really a cheerful giver. I wanted those who received from me to really deserve it, in my eyes (I did not really ask God whether He wanted me to bless them). You see, I was giving to people and not to God. I did like blessing people (it's was a 'makes me feel good' decision) but somewhere deep down was the thought, ‘you know if you really want it you should work for it like me.’ You see I wanted something back in return, I wanted them to deserve the money I had worked to make. It was MY money and I was being this wonderful person and giving it away. It was a ‘me’ thing. Today, I am very blessed to say, that old me is all dead and gone. I love blessing people today and I actually want to have, just so I can give and get the pat on the back from my Jesus. It makes Him so happy and I love that. Thank you Lord for opening my eyes to that one and setting me free.

You know this is a trap I see many people stuck in. Another trap is that nobody wants to be Mary these days. Mary looks like a lazy person. I had this problem too. It’s easier to be Martha and look down on Mary than be Mary and have only Jesus understand what is actually going on. It’s a lonely place if one is seeking man’s approval but it’s the place God says is better. As a woman I have this problem, how much more men?

Why is it so difficult to be Mary and so much easier to be Martha? The words ‘I’m so busy’ is like a fashion statement today. I hear it from people all the time and today I hate it when it comes out of my mouth, because usually it’s the reason I haven’t done something I know I should have that is usually relationship oriented. With such a busy life how can we actually spend time with God and do the things He wants? Yes, we try but usually we get stuck in this horrible place where we're a Martha who pretends to be a Mary. ‘I’ll fit God into my 45 minute lunch break. ’ Even some of us in active ministry sometimes have this attitude. ‘Surely God expects me to have a life!’

There are too many Martha’s and too few Mary’s and we as people pleasers wanting so much to fit in, join the Martha’s rather than the Mary’s. I’m not saying this to condemn us. I think it’s a genuine problem that only God has the answer to. One that I hope more and more of us will seek to find for our own sakes. It’s a hard answer to seek, because we feel like Martha did, that if we do not do the work and get all 'busy busy' then everything will stay undone, or that we will be utterly useless or that our lives will be boring and lack meaning or that we'll have no satisfaction that we've actually achieved something or that people will not respect us or we won’t have any friends. Yes, and it seems genuinely unnatural that any other outcome should result. But surely we’re missing something here. Why would Jesus say that it’s better to be Mary than to be Martha if we’d end up losing out? Surely He couldn’t have meant that? Yet He clearly was suggesting that Mary had it right to sit at His feet while Martha did all the work. What did He mean? Only He knows and we need to not try and guess or use our own wisdom or understanding and come up with some kind of rule to explain this. There is too much of that going around.

Only God knows the hidden things of Him and He will reveal it to us if we ask.