Mary, Martha and Pinterest

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel you are going crazy trying to get through your “To Do” list and everyone around you (husband, kids, co-workers) seem to be just sitting there doing nothing? 

Or worse yet, they are all doing the things YOU WISH you could do like reading for fun, playing games, gardening, watching a movie, swimming, talking with friends… but NOOOOOOOO! You have too much work to do and resent their leisure.

“Ugh! I wish I could sit around doing nothing all day, but someone has to do the work around here!”

“These clothes don’t wash themselves – Neither do the dishes, floors, windows, toilets…”

You get the point!

Ahhhhhhh! Martha! Martha!

All my life I have been known to be a “Martha”.

For those of you missing the biblical context, Martha and her sister Mary found themselves with the Ultimate dinner guest, Jesus.

Martha, wanting to make sure her guest was cared for –not to mention the 12 disciple entourage-  began making preparations to serve her guests dinner. In that day and age with no Wegmans, Walmart, refrigeration or electricity dinner was no easy task. Everything was literally made from scratch! Seriously, this was her time to shine or fade as a hostess to the King of Kings! Think Martha Sterwart and Pinterest rolled into one! The possibilities are endless! She could make the casserole to end all casseroles and the decorations had to be perfect...and... Hmmmmm...Are you feeling exhausted yet?

Mary, the younger sister, unconcerned with any thoughts of impressing the guests with a nice meal or clean house- just hung out with Jesus and his friends listening to the stories of their travels and the miracles they had encountered.

Martha becomes frustrated with Mary’s lack of help in the kitchen and complains to Jesus hoping He will back her and tell Mary to “get to work”.

It blew up in Martha’s face. Jesus commends Mary for her good choice of activities and rebukes Martha for her many distractions and worries.

Not quite what Martha was bargaining for. She didn’t get the help she wanted and the object of her frustration, Mary got the kudos! Ughhh! That’s the worst.

I am a Martha. A professional Martha. I am not proud of it. It is my nature and God has been gently rebuking me on deeper and deeper levels as over the years He has been sloughing off the decay in my life.

I have heard teachings on this story form Luke 10 so many times that I almost get nauseous at the hint of another Martha Message! Nauseous because I can’t seem to stop being a Martha!

I struggle with this - Marthaism. I have almost resigned myself to this as my “thorn in the flesh” as the Apostle Paul would have put it.

If everyone became a Mary – how would anything get done? If we all just sit around and let life roll who would be in charge? Who would plan things? Wouldn’t everything just fall apart?

I have been trying to wrap my head around the deeper meanings of this story for years!

Several weeks ago I was listening to the podcast of a nationally known minister and he made reference to the Mary and Martha story. I listened even though my eyes were rolling and stomach flopping.

Luke chapter 10 verses 41 and 42 read “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.” (New International Version)

The minister in the podcast mentioned that the original language used to describe Martha as worried and upset meant to be distracted, anxious, multi-minded. Whereas Mary was single-minded, focused fully on Jesus.  

It was the multi-minded vs. single-minded that caught my attention. I had to look it up myself.

Mary had the laser focus; tuned into Jesus and what he had for her in that moment. Martha was a laser on the fritz. Zap, zip, zap zz-zzap. She flitted here and there. Always rushing. Always busy. When she did sit down her mind was still zipping and zapping.

If I, a Martha, am not focused on what Jesus wants me focused on, what are the ramifications of that?

Am I missing what God has for me today? In this moment am I missing the lesson? The opportunities? Friendships? Blessings? If I could sit, quiet my body, mind and spirit, could I tune in to him and his voice. His sweet words? His song?

There are always tasks to do, projects to complete, goals to achieve. But I believe there is discernment to know when to work at them and when to sit and listen in the quiet to Jesus speaking love, joy and peace into your heart. Absorb those words like a sponge. Let them wash over you flushing away the stress of Marthaism. Settle your spirit to become Mary on a regular basis and I bet you will find Martha work a lot less frazzled and maybe even a little more enjoyable.

SO WHAT!? (Our application portion of the blog. Please don’t read and proceed with your life unchanged. Stop a minute and apply what you just read so you can continue your journey a healthier you!)

1.     Identify whether you tend toward being a Martha or Mary.

2.     If you are a Mary – good for you, but are there tasks that God is asking you to do that you are sitting on? Ask Jesus to help you move into action!

3.     If you are a Martha – strive today to find even 5 minutes to get away quiet to hear what God is trying to tell you. Take a quick walk after the kids are in bed. Lock yourself in the bathroom with a journal and pen in hand. Find a quiet spot at work where you can stop and think a minute about your life and what God has been teaching you. Try for 5 days and see what difference it makes!

4.     There are positive and negatives to each of the women in the story. Think about your social media subscriptions: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+. Do any of these influence you negatively and push you further toward being too over committed or too under committed?

5.     Leave comments at the end of the blog to let all of us know how you are doing! Comments can be anonymous. You do not need a Google account to comment but we need each other for support and encouragement!