Scripture

“Martha, Martha,” replied Jesus, “you are anxious and worried about a multitude of things but only one thing is really necessary.

~Luke 10:41 Weymouth

Quote

The secret to success is keeping the main thing the main thing.

~Ike Reighard

 

There is so much irony in the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was a lion, she had the choleric temperament: in charge, self-willed, driven, task oriented and a decision maker for herself and others. Some people refer to the Cholerics as control freaks. Mary was the opposite. She is Melancholy or Phlegmatic or maybe a bit of both. She is a slow mover, contemplative, and introverted. Her slowness and inactivity drives her sister crazy. Martha is what I call a pot-banger, she is in the kitchen banging pots and pans so everyone else will know she is in the kitchen. Martha is so hyper that she struggles to have a quiet time. Mary is so melancholy that she has a hard time washing the dishes or doing the ironing. Unfortunately for me and those around me, I am a type-A personality like Martha. I am very anxious and I do worry about a lot of things that are far beyond my control. Establishing a quiet time was one of the hardest things I’ve done in my 27 years.

The deep irony of the story recorded by Luke is that Martha was hyper-active and Mary was very, very passive but it is Mary who Jesus commended. Martha goes to Jesus to get Him to take her side and shockingly, Jesus gave Mary an A+ and Martha a mild rebuke. Jesus is not applauding laziness but what Jesus needed more than a meal was some good fellowship, sympathy, love and understanding. He was getting that from Mary but all He was getting from Martha was stress. Jesus was going to die on a cross in a few days; he wasn’t all that hungry. Do you think you or I would be hungry if we knew we were going to be nailed to a cross before weeks end. Jesus was God but He was also human and His greatest need was to be loved and appreciated. Martha was busy serving HIM in her own way but it was not what Jesus desired. Jesus wants our love and devotion and that comes first and foremost. If we love Him, we will serve Him but we must be careful that our service to Him if properly motivated. Think about it just for a moment: what was Martha anxious and worried about? Getting dinner on the table by a certain time…right? Perhaps serving a delicious meal or a lunch that would impress a king? Did either of these things matter to Jesus? The moral of the story is that most of the things we worry and fret over are unimportant and have no eternal significance. Did you get that Jack!

Extra

I don’t really know how long I have been writing blogs. I would guess more than ten years and less than twenty but I have written thousands. I have had only two that we picked up by syndicated bloggers. I wrote a similar blog to the one above; same title I think {Martha, Martha} and someone ask permission to use it and the only other was on giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and the IMB asks me for permission to reprint it. To my knowledge, I’ve never had a blog go viral, not even close. My all time high on readers is around 200 and the average is more like 70. Some people question me for spending the time blogging since I have so few readers but I don’t think of it that way. I will take quality over quantity any day. If I had only one reader and they got encouragement from the blog, I would blog. Besides, it is a good discipline for me. I have never viewed it as a waste of time.

This must be locust winter, the blackberry’s are not in bloom and the dogwoods have come and gone. It is chilly this morning.

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray.Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.Is anyone among you sick? Let us pray for them and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. So don’t forget to pray for our friends battling cancer.

Have a good day and thanks for reading the blog.