What If We Have A Martha Spirit And A Mary Desire?

There is this wonderful tension in the Body of Christ between work and rest. It shouldn't be a tension and the reason it exists is because most of us have a wrong understanding of work and rest. There is no time like the present to get a better grasp on these Kingdom positions.

Most of us have heard the story of Mary and Martha many times. We have sat through many sermons, maybe looked at it in a Bible study and may have even read a book about it. Let's sum it up for those who don't remember.

Jesus was visiting the home of his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus. While he was teaching, the two ladies took up two very different positions. Martha was the oldest woman in the house so she took up the traditional position of hostess and was occupied in the kitchen with meal preparation for their guests. Mary should have been assisting her big sister but she took up an unfamiliar position.

As a woman at this time it was demanded of Mary that she be in the kitchen with her sister. According to the Pharisees it was illegal to teach a woman the Torah. But here we find Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening, learning and being taught. This is when tradition reared its ugly head and attacked the unfamiliar position and it tried to involve Jesus. Much to Martha's shock Jesus lifted up Mary's position and told tradition that Mary had made the better choice.

Now what do we do with this? Most of us have some of the Martha attitude. We like to be busy doing things. We like work. We were actually made for work and feel much better when we are doing it. So what if we have a Martha spirit and a Mary desire? How do we deal with this tension considering how much value churches put on doers?

When Jesus told Martha that Mary had made the better choice he was not condemning work. Instead he was demonstrating the order of position. We are told through Scripture that our actions matter. We are told to be doers of the Word. We are told love is not love without action. So work is not the problem but the root can be. Look at what Paul wrote to Timothy:

"Consider carefully all that I've taught you, and may our Lord inspire you with wisdom and revelation in everything you say and do. But make Jesus, the Anointed One, your focus in life and ministry." 2 Timothy 2:7-8 TPT

Work is not the problem, our position is. We are meant to always be in a position of relationship, a position of receiving, a position of student, of growth, of maturing. It is a position where we keep Jesus as our focus, our center, our raison d'etre, our First Love. Now we can say that he is all that and more to us but our actual position will reveal if he is.

Most of us have the desire of Mary but we act on the habits and traditions of Martha. We do everything in his name but not necessarily from a First Love relationship. You know what I mean. We get in the habit of doing, responding and working according to the needs of others but he has called us, not to strive, but to rest. It is in this position of rest that he is able to work through us. It is in this position of rest that we hear his voice and know his heart. It is in this rest that we are able to follow his instructions and from the overflow of this relationship the Kingdom advances.

There is a big difference in work that is done from a position of rest and work that is done from a position of work. What we do for the Lord will always fall short of what the Lord wants to do through us. His work through us will never exhaust us and will produce fruit beyond our imagining.  It takes a mindset of surrender to remain in this position of rest.

When we can go days or weeks without talking to Jesus or hearing from him then we have slipped from position. When our day's schedule is filled with his work  and not his relationship then we have slipped from position. When being industrious becomes our measuring rod instead of being like the King, we have slipped from position. Being a Martha is not the problem. The problem is being a Martha without Mary's position.

If we are finding ourselves in a place of striving, in a place of "stressed out" from doing, a position of exhaustion then we are walking in Martha's footsteps, serving from our own strength instead of the King's. That does not honour him. We are suppose to steward our calling and ministry better than that. Make Jesus your focus in life and ministry. In this way you will honour your King, honour yourself and honour your neighbour. Martha, may the Lord open open your heart to receive this.

 

Did You 'Go' Or Were You 'Sent'?

How do you pick a pastor? Is it by his work experience? Is it by his education? Is it by his preaching ability? Is it by his good looks, charm, and overall personality? Is it by his fit with the feel of the congregation? Or do we pick him at all? It is unfortunate that we have turned pastoring into a career and thus have affected how we deal with the calling in most ministries. Too often now we consider the most suitable and qualified person for the position, like any other job in the world. The funny thing is, Yahweh has this knack of choosing the most unqualified person and equipping them for the task. Could it be that we are leaving Yahweh's will to one side?

There is a difference between being "sent" and just going. There is a difference between being chosen and choosing. There is a difference between being called and desiring a position. A hired shepherd will not lay down his life for the benefit of the sheep. At the first sign of danger to himself he will run. A family shepherd will do whatever it takes to protect and raise those sheep, he will sacrifice day and night. He knows he must stand his ground because there is nowhere to run to, this is his responsibility.

Samuel was a great prophet, priest and judge. He led the people of Israel well but he was also a father. And as a father he thought well of his children; he thought well of his sons. He wanted the very best for them, so he set them up as judges in Israel:

Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. (1 Samuel 8:1)

It seemed a logical thing to do. Samuel was getting old and needed help. Who better to help him than his sons. But judges were not selected by man, they were chosen by Yahweh, set aside for his purpose and given the ability to do what was necessary by Yahweh. Samuel made a mistake here and Israel was changed forever:

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. (1 Samuel 8:3)

As a result the elders were provoked to demand for a king because they wanted to be like all the other nations. Because of Samuel's decision to do what only Yahweh does, the nation rejected Yahweh as their king. The strange thing is, this same attitude resulted in their first king being removed from the throne.

King Saul stepped into a responsibility that wasn't his. Before battle, Samuel, the priest, would come and offer a sacrifice. On the eve of a great battle Samuel was late and Saul was panicked. He looked around and decided the need trumped the call so he stepped in and offered the sacrifice himself. He went from king to priest. Because of this arrogance Yahweh took the kingdom from him.

There are many examples of people taking on responsibilities that were not appointed to them or of man choosing according to his logic, leaving Yahweh out of it. We have to stop and realize that such things are beyond our comprehension and it is Yahweh who chooses who he wants when he wants. Sometimes he picks people with the qualities we expect and sometimes he chooses an insignificant shepherd boy to become the greatest leader of his people. Sometimes he chooses a well educated man and sometimes he chooses a drunk. Sometimes he chooses a man of great leadership ability and sometimes he chooses a carpenter, plumber, baker. The fact is, it is his choice and not ours.

Allow me to highlight key phrases from 1 Corinthians 12, the great chapter on the Body of Christ:

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (v. 11)

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (v.18)

And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. (v.28)

And if we were to take a quick look at another passage concerning the Body of Christ:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. (Ephesians 4:11)

It is very dangerous ground to walk on to appoint yourself or someone else to a position that Yahweh reserves for himself. It is not a thing of elitism because everyone is called to something but we are called by Yahweh's appointment, for his purpose. We are not to walk in someone else's calling and responsibilities. We have our own calling to deal with.

Unfortunately there is a lot of confusion in the Body these days because we have adopted the attitude of the world in assigning responsibilities and have left the Spirit out of it. We are paying a great price for that decision.