Last week, we looked at having a conversation with Jesus. One conversation HE had was with the woman at the well. In her conversation with Jesus, we emphasized the importance of trust. Today, we are looking at another biblical character who had an intimate conversation with Jesus --- her name was Martha found in Luke 10:38-42 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But 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, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her First, some background information about the situation. What do we know about Martha? Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus who Jesus raised from the dead. The three were exceptionally good friends of Jesus who lived in a small village of Bethany. Jesus loved them as said in John 11:5 Martha was a homeowner and was obsessed with ensuring that her guests were well provided for. After all, it was Jewish custom to show hospitality to their guest with food, comfort, and security. In fact the name Martha is translated, in Hebrew, as head of household or myrrh. It means “Lady Boss,” “Mistress,” or “Land Lady” Martha was demonstrating that responsibility and was upset that her sister was chilling with the guys and Jesus. Ok, enough about Martha, let’s consider another portion of the narrative: It says in Luke 10:40 Martha “…. was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” and she, in her anger and possibly, stress, snapped at Jesus saying “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
Have you ever lost yourself and said something that you wished that you could take back? So, Martha knows that Jesus is the Son of GOD, but she forgot herself here. She is written down in history as one who scolded Jesus In essence, she was absorbed in taking care of the task without regard for the teaching and the relationship building Basically, she was so busy in the task that she missed the relationship and teaching Here we go: the old Task vs relationship and/or teaching conflict. Which should we do? Most of the time, we choose task over relationship and/or teaching. Why is that? Possibly because we are conditioned to seek results…. often, immediate results. Relationship is emotional and teaching is virtually mental. It is interesting that we lean on task completion and often forego teaching and relationship building. An example…Have you ever missed prayer time with GOD or word time with the Holy Spirit to complete a task. The task is important but according to Jesus not as important as our relationship with GOD. We should be looking forward to our time with GOD… Have we decided to prepare for the job while forsaking the assembly? Yes, we need our energy and planning for our task and relationships do not need any preparation, right? We go into our interaction with others without any thoughts or preparations. We do this without a second thought…side with the task over being taught and teaching others. According to Jesus, Mary selected wisely. She selected the vitals of life. So, lets look at a list of things that we can learn from Martha’s interaction with Jesus. According to “Woman of Noble Character” we can learn the following from Martha: 1. Be Humble Martha wanted to be recognized for her virtuous deeds and her demanding work. However, the service in the LORD is not exclusively about praising one’s work. IN Col 3:23 it states... “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” 2. Avoid Comparison Martha makes a comparison between herself and her sister. The question is am I trying to please GOD or man? Compare yourself with the Son of GOD…it is a command. 3. Rest is Not Lazy Martha was in a frenzy cooking and preparing for her guests. She couldn’t imagine sitting down to enjoy their company. God wants us to be productive, but He always wants us to rest and enjoy fellowship with Him 4. Keep Your Priorities Straight When Martha goes off on Jesus, He tells her to chill and that she is focused on the wrong thing (as I’ve shared above). Her priorities are slightly off. Can you relate to this? What are our priorities? Are our priorities our relationship with GOD, the Holy Spirit through HIS Word, people? What about our family? Prioritize by starting with prayer and Bible study time and add everything else. Remove distractions. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33 5. Mind Your Own Business Martha was resentful because she was working away, and Mary was having fun. You know what? It wasn’t her business. Focus on what you are doing and how you are pleasing the Lord. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. That is between them and God. Not you and them. “and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,” – 1 Thessalonians 4:11 6. Release your issues to God When Martha was angry with her sister, she told Jesus about it. Whatever you are facing, no matter how big or small, give it to God. When you give your burdens to the Lord, he takes the yoke upon himself. You no longer have to worry. He has it covered. 7. Hospitality is For Everyone
Kitchen a disaster? Stains on the living room carpet? the furniture turning white with dust? That is fine. Hospitality is not about how clean your house is, it is about making your guests feel welcome by extending grace and love. 8. Stop Worrying Worrying affects our health, things like ulcers, headaches, depression and so much more. God tell us not to “be anxious about anything.” When you are worried give it to God, demonstrating that you have complete faith in Him and are completely dependent on him. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 So, what is the moral of this narrative? First, we need to be reminded that conversations with anyone have a certain amount of trust. IN this case, we need to trust GOD as we see how Martha trusted Jesus Secondly, we need to understand the value of peace. The essence of conversations is peace from having positive interactions. There is much peace when we choose the GODLy over the worldly. Thirdly, we need to constantly ensure that our vision is locked unto Jesus As we focus on HIM, we learn what is profoundly important to life. To recap we need conversations with Jesus all day to be humble and sit at the feet of Jesus to listen to HIS every word remember that Jesus is Lord and King of Kings conversations with Jesus to make us better
to keep our priorities straight by listening to Jesus to learn how to teach/relate with others
So, which are you…task-oriented Martha or relationship/tutored Mary? It's significant to note that Jesus gently admonished Martha for being "worried and upset," not for serving. Service is a good thing but sitting at Jesus' feet is best. We must remember what is most important. There is a time for each, but Jesus teaches us to seek after the better of the choices…seek relationship and GODly teaching.
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