The story of Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42
Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.Ā She had a sister calledĀ Mary, who wasĀ seated at the Lordās feet, listening to His word.Ā ButĀ Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came upĀ to HimĀ and said, āLord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.āĀ But the Lord answered and said to her,Ā āMartha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things;Ā butĀ only one thing is necessary, forĀ Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.āĀ
I am a Martha. There, I’ve said it. I am definitely a Martha!
I know Mary chose the good part by sitting at the feet of Jesus (literally) but is being a Martha all that bad? No, this isnāt Mary-bashing or patting myself and the other Marthas on the back. The world needs Marys, Iām just not one of them. Somebody has to get things done. Right?
I recently took the spiritual gifts test and found that I scored high in the gift of administration, a Martha-type characteristic. Thatās no surprise. Iāve taken these tests a few times over the years and it always ended the same, no matter how I hoped for a different result.
Administration — it just sounds so dry and boring, an all about work.
Despite how I felt about it, in Godās goodness, this gift of administration has served me well as a manager, project leader, and department head throughout my career in the automotive industry. Now Iām using it to manage this blog, plan a season of bible studies at church, and pursue further discipleship training as I hope to meaningfully share Godās word as the Spirit leads. For me, this is the good part.
In our current womenās bible study, Not Alone by Jenny Allen (find it at IFequip.com or RightNow Media), we read in todayās lesson: āInstead, he [Jesus] gently tells her [Martha] that Maryās choice is better. He affirms her decision to spend quality time with him over checking boxes and becoming resentful of others in the process.ā
This struck a chord with me because I often describe myself as a box-checking kind of person. Thatās the administrator in me. Yes, Iām a Martha. I like to plan and execute and I admit that I get frustrated with people who donāt get it.
Iām learning to be more like Mary, in a Martha-like way. To slow done and enjoy the goodness of God in my life. The purpose is to share that goodness with others. I donāt feel bad about my Martha tendencies anymore. No, I wonāt fight the administrator in me any longer. I found that itās not dry or boring when itās about His work, not mine.
Find out about your spiritual gifts and how to use them. You can take the free survey at https://gifts.churchgrowth.org/
Go to the Table of Contents to read more posts in this series as they go live.
It’s October so this must be time forĀ 31 Days of Five Minute Friday Free-Writes. The event is hosted byĀ Kate MotaungĀ over atĀ Five Minute Fridays.Ā We write daily for five minutes, or maybe a bit longer. The point is to write.Ā Kate provides writers with a one-word writing prompt each day. Today the prompt PERSON
Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Ā gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (NLT)
The guiding verse for this series on the Fruit of the Spirit is Galatians 5:22-23, shown at the top of the page in the New Living Translation (NLT). I’ve added this info in response to a few questions I’ve gotten about the parenthetical reference NLT at the end of the verse. There are a lot of bible translations. For that reason, I’ll try to remember to note the versions I use in each blog post, here at the end.
Story of Martha and Mary is in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) translation.
Picture credit: Photo byĀ Glenn Carstens-PetersĀ onĀ Unsplash
Martha, I mean Suzette:
You have more Mary in you than you think. I like you just as you are. Because that’s how Jesus made you.
Hillarious! Yes, Iām embracing Mary while I keep looking for Mary.
You are a good Martha.
That day will come.
I’ll have to slow down first. I think we can be at His feet in whatever capacity He gives us. It’s in His plan after all.