MARY AND MARTHA
STEWART
Luke 10:38-42
In the Bible, there is a Mary
with a sister named Martha. That Martha is very well known for
her interest in keeping house. Coincidentally, in our contemporary culture a
lady by the name of Martha is also very much associated with
homemaking—Martha Stewart. I couldn’t resist using the coincidence to come up
with the sermon title—I’m weak in these things, you know.
Ms. Stewart’s popularity,
conversely, makes us think of Martha, Mary’s sister (Lk. 10:38-42; Jn. 11:
1-44). Various congregations have given recognition to the biblical Martha’s
housekeeping interests by coming up with a Martha’s Night Out program. Martha
Stewart, for her part, gets recognition through quite a few purchases of her
homemaking wares. In both cases, we can pause and take note of a lesson Jesus
taught about priorities. Not about differentiating good things from bad things,
but about seeing the best thing among good things. Sometimes our downfall is
not because we choose a bad thing, but because we choose something good rather
than choosing the best.
Martha’s
Struggles With Good, Better, And Best—Finding An Unusual Key To Success (Lk.
10:38-42).
1. Martha was not chided by Jesus because she was doing something evil
in nature; she was actually engaged in very noble service (Titus 2:3-5; I Tim.
5:14).
2. Martha did have a problem in not giving freely of her hospitality
just for the sake of serving another, she worried about Mary not joining in (v.
40).
· What others do or do not do is not to interfere with
our own commitments (Jn. 21:20-22).
· Some excuse themselves from the Lord’s work by citing
the faults of others—Jesus is not impressed with such tactics and will give
them no attention in Judgment (II Cor. 5:10; Matt. 25:24-30, 34-40).
3. Martha allowed a good thing to distract her from the best thing (v.
40a).
· Sometimes God’s greatest opportunities come when we
are caught up in doing good things (Matt. 19:16-22).
· Doing good things can distract us from seeing the best
thing (Matt. 7:21-23; Lk. 18:9-12).
· We should, therefore, always be looking for better
ways to express our Christianity (I Cor. 12:27-31).
· Doing good things can make us self-righteous, if we do
not find what is best (Lk. 18:9).
· Doing good without recognizing what is best can even
make us upset with God (v.40b).
4. Martha’s biggest problem was that she was so concerned with the many
secondary things of life that she had not developed a proper sense of
priorities (vv. 41-42).
· This was a key reason the Pharisees missed out on
truth (Matt. 23:23-24).
· It is easily done by people who would never think of
doing anything that was wrong in itself.
· Priorities let us know when we need to attend to what
(Mk. 3:1-6; Matt. 12:9-14; 9:9-13).
Mary’s
Choice—Why The Best Is Best.
1. Jesus strongly emphasized how important it was to see religion
through eyes that recognized proper priorities (Matt. 6:19-24; 7:12; 22:34-40;
23:23-24).
2. Mary saw that the opportunity to sit at Jesus’ feet was more
important than preparations for His visit—preparations would find time for
expression, but later.
· Knowing Jesus is the basis upon which all the rest of
life is conditioned (Jn. 17:3; 14:8-9).
· We may know many things about God and His word, but if we
do not know
God and His priorities, such knowledge is wasted and unfulfilled.
· When we act without knowing God, we will learn that we
have not been known by God—the lone set of footprints in the sand will have
been ours (Matt. 7:21-23)!
· Good and better things lose their status when we fail
to embrace what is best.
· Good and better become unacceptable when we fail to
first choose what is best.
3. Mary shows her understanding of priorities as she later anointed Jesus
for burial with costly ointment—a lesson lost on even the Apostles (Jn. 12:1-8;
Matt. 26:6-13).
4. And so we don’t leave Martha in a theological lurch, she would
later also show her depth of devotion at the death of her brother Lazarus (Jn.
11:17-29).
As Christians, most of us do
not find our greatest struggles to be with deliberately choosing to do evil
things. Our failings are most likely to be found in misplaced
priorities—choosing good and better rather than the best. Additionally, when
our priorities are not right, we may well develop a sense of complacency,
self-righteousness, and aggravation with our brethren—we could even manufacture
issues with God.
The secret to success is not
really a secret at all. “Keeping the main thing as the main thing” has been
recognized by many as the key to success in life. God has always known that
this sense of priority is the key to success in anything, especially in our
relationship with God. Mary and Martha help us to see how important it is to
choose wisely in life. Even Martha Stewart can help us to see that.
ESJ
4/9/00
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