October 16, 2013
Mary or Martha
For the 2nd week in a row, our Sunday School lesson has hit a nerve and opened my eyes to my own actions. This is just a reflection of the lesson and how I can apply it to my own personal life!
This past Sunday during our Sunday School lesson we were discussing how sometimes "Relationships Collide" due to differences in priorities. The scripture and topic was about Mary and Martha and Jesus coming into their home. Scripture says Martha was continuously working on cleaning the house and trying to be a good "host" for the special guest, who was Jesus. Mary on the other hand was leaving Martha "all alone" as the NASB translates it.
This brought up the discussion of which character we are and how we set our priorities. In a classroom full of husband and wife teams and various personalities, we had numerous Martha characters and few Mary characters. Naturally, the wives were more of the "Martha" and the husbands usually played the role of "Mary".
This past Sunday during our Sunday School lesson we were discussing how sometimes "Relationships Collide" due to differences in priorities. The scripture and topic was about Mary and Martha and Jesus coming into their home. Scripture says Martha was continuously working on cleaning the house and trying to be a good "host" for the special guest, who was Jesus. Mary on the other hand was leaving Martha "all alone" as the NASB translates it.
Martha and Mary
38 Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with [a]all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
This brought up the discussion of which character we are and how we set our priorities. In a classroom full of husband and wife teams and various personalities, we had numerous Martha characters and few Mary characters. Naturally, the wives were more of the "Martha" and the husbands usually played the role of "Mary".
This led to me thinking about how I do usually think of myself as Martha and often ponder "Why am I the only one cleaning the house?" or "Cant you just help me out a 'little'?". These thoughts as pointed out in the Sunday School lesson commentary are not necessarily Biblical. Mary, while she was not cleaning and cooking and playing the role of the "host", was sitting at Jesus' feet which was of equal (if not more) importance.
I far too many times selfishly think "HELP ME CLEAN" or "MAKE DINNER ONCE IN A WHILE" without looking at the big picture which is... He (Chris) is doing OTHER things that may not seem as important but are equally noticeable but I am too busy selfishly thinking about my own side of the coin. To you Chris Davis, I apologize for acting too much like Martha frequently and I will try to look at things through Mary's perspective!
I far too many times selfishly think "HELP ME CLEAN" or "MAKE DINNER ONCE IN A WHILE" without looking at the big picture which is... He (Chris) is doing OTHER things that may not seem as important but are equally noticeable but I am too busy selfishly thinking about my own side of the coin. To you Chris Davis, I apologize for acting too much like Martha frequently and I will try to look at things through Mary's perspective!
I appreciate you Chris Davis and I am grateful for your friendship and love!
God is good... All the time!
No comments:
Post a Comment