Margaret??

By Trisha Wilkerson, wife of Pastor Mike Wilkerson.

For a few years, I have talked about a woman named Margaret. She is a fictitious woman I’ve made up, trying to understand the Martha and Mary story in Luke 10. I jokingly call the blend of both Martha and Mary “Margaret,” assuming that there must be a gal that is both a hard worker and a worshiper. My tag line in the Margaret story has been: “Sure, Mary had it right–setting at the Lord’s feet listening to his teaching–but hey! JESUS had to eat!”

But I am starting to grasp that Margaret isn’t the answer. I am starting to understand what Jesus meant when he said, “Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken from her.”

Martha:

All of my Christian life, I have heard about the differences between Martha and Mary. Often it is suggested that Martha is the stressed out sister concerned about tasks. She can’t relax because “there is much to be done.” Martha works hard but seems to lack the peace and worship that goes with working heartily unto the Lord. When God himself is a guest in her home she can’t even handle the pressure to perform the tasks. It seems as though that is all she is concerned with–the preparations.

Check her out:

Luke 10:38-42 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Martha is distracted.

Distracted. Hmmm. Who does this resonate with? Me! For sure. I often find myself BUSY with much serving. Distracted from what? Why was Martha, or any of us, distracted? We think that what we’re doing is most important: the tasks and preparations. Jesus told Martha that she was anxious and troubled about many things. What was she troubled by? I can answer for myself. When I am like Martha–when I am not worshipping in work but JUST working–I am busy, frustrated, fast, and resentful. I resent it if my husband is in the room and not helping out in some way. My heart is troubled by the tasks yet to be done. I’m ticked that I have to do it all. Maybe I’m trying to enjoy the preparations. Yet inside my heart I’m looking for any opportunity to complain that I am going it alone. How foolish and self-focused I can be.

Martha is a tattle teller.

My kids do this all the time. They get frustrated and sin in their anger with their siblings because some offense has been done. Most of the time the other sibling has not sinned against the tattler. The tattler just wants their way. Can’t you just picture Martha quietly working, yet raging in her heart? Her rage got the best of her. She wanted Mary to help her! Mary just sat there and listened to Jesus. Martha may have started out with a pure heart. She may have had a desire to be hospitable to the Lord, make him food, serve him. So when did her desire to serve turn to sin?

Again, imagine yourself, imagine me. I am working in the kitchen. I start preparing, and my heart is delighted that I have all the ingredients to make a delicious dinner for my family. I am chopping and peaceful. My husband walks in, kisses my cheek. He goes about his business. My kids start getting loud in the living room. I stop chopping and attend to their arguments. Then the baby cries. She needs to be breastfed. The preparations for this amazing meal have to stop.

Enter my depravity. Why can’t I just get that done? Why do these kids need me too? Oh, but I love my children… Why does it take so long to make a dinner! I wish I could just focus. I say a prayer while nursing my baby and another riot breaks out among the other kids. My husband deals with that one. Thank you! Ok, back to busy preparations. I turn on some music to lighten the attitude in the air, denying the war in my heart. The kids start dancing in the kitchen. I take a break to dance too. They see this opportunity to ask me for a snack. Can’t they see I am making an amazing dinner!? If I could just finish it, they would be happy! I would be happy! Why?

Question — what God am I serving?!

The war that was raging in me suggests that the god I am serving is The God of Accomplishment and Tasks. I am worshipping the God of self — me.

Martha was worshipping herself, not Jesus.

At some point, Martha transferred her worship from God to Self. God was actually in HER LIVING ROOM. I can’t believe her! How could she do this??? She could’ve set at His feet too and worshipped him, yet the war in her heart raged. She thought serving busily was the right thing to do. She eventually resented her sister. This sin developed because Martha’s heart wasn’t worshipping in work.

As I just shared, I do the same thing. I tattle-tell in my heart. I complain to God for the people in the house that take me from the more important things, the tasks. Martha complained to the Lord in person. But I do it too–in my heart. I have the same divided heart, tattle-telling while thinking I am serving with a pure heart.

The easy and false remedy for this heart issue would be simple behavior change: abandon tasks and enjoy relationship. Just throw preparations and work out the door and “Let the Good Times Roll!” Chill out, play, enjoy one another, read all the time, listen to preaching, sing worship songs, and give affection to everyone all the time, without doing tasks. I don’t think that is what Jesus is saying.

Martha didn’t choose the good portion.

Jesus told Martha, “but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” He was saying Mary made a choice. This is huge.

It is common to make this about Mary’s personality, thinking of her as “relationship gal.” She sets at Jesus’ feet and she probably is the kind of gal that loves people well. It is easy to imagine the stereotype of a good time gal that works when it is necessary, but has a lot of friends and would choose going out on the town to party instead of getting five loads of laundry done and the floors mopped. We will talk about Mary later, but my point is that Martha could’ve made a choice. Do I make the right choices?

I am not promoting a legalistic work model for a woman, here. By confessing my own sin, I desire to provoke other hearts to see. To provoke hearts to see how double-minded we are when we work.

Martha had an opportunity to worship in her work. JESUS was actually in her house!!!! I so wish the story went down in Luke like this:

“Martha was busy with many preparations as she listened to the Lord. In her heart she worshipped him for His enabling her to enjoy her work as an act of service to him. Martha offered the fruit of her work in her heart and the Lord ate and was satisfied. Even as Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, Martha was not resentful but grateful to have this opportunity to serve the Lord Christ. She worshipped with her hands, with her heart.”

But alas, the Lord saw fit to have another story — the true story of Martha’s heart — her battle with work. It is my battle too. I long to worship Jesus in my work. The Reminder of Grace is that my Lord is slow to anger and abounding in love for me. He knows my struggle. He knows my personality tendencies. He is loving me graciously in revealing to me how to work hard to His Glory and not to my own.