Perspective Transformation Radio Changing the World One Perspective at a Time
The lie is: All women should be more like Mary and less like Martha.
The truth is: All women should be fully who God created them to be, worshiping as they go! Jesus absolutely loved Martha's service as much as Mary's worship. In Luke 10:41, when Jesus says His famous, "Martha, Martha" line, He is NOT saying Mary is better than Martha, nor that Martha should try to be more like Mary. He's simply pointing out that women like to compare themselves with each other, find fault in each other, and use those moments to feel either a) very superior or b) sorry for themselves. In the moment we're discussing in this Mary/Martha Monday Series, Martha's gotten her priorities all mixed up. Instead of worshiping and being grateful as she worked, she turned her focus to discontent with her sister's calling. Jesus responded so lovingly. I don't see a demeaning, icky tone anywhere. I imagine Him looking at Martha with so much love, appreciation and compassion as He gently said: "Martha, Martha. You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” I'm going to amplify this in the way I understand it, the way I hear Him saying it:
It's almost more important to consider what He DIDN'T say. He did not say:
He only addressed her momentary misunderstanding of the situation. He felt loved by both, so in His compassion toward her, as she was left alone to prepare the meal without help, and His determination to not allow to remain stuck in the lie, He corrected her thinking, for our benefit. Both Mary's "sitting down focus" and Martha's "standing up service" were highly valued by Jesus. It was His desire to make us WHOLE that prompted His verbal correction. He offered it only when Martha a) felt sorry for herself, b) spoke a lie as if it was the truth and c) criticized a sister for worshiping God that He intervened. I truly believe that if Martha had worshiped as she worked that day, as did on so many other days, this perspective transformation would have never taken place. But, for our benefit, it did. Praise God! Satan, in his usual way, twisted and still twists this moment from a beautiful example of how God loves EVERY woman's worship, into something that has caused hard-working women to feel shameful. I'm excited to launch this Mary/Martha Mondays series to explore more on this topic! Comments are closed.
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BlogPerspective transformation with Marnie & Friends Archives
October 2022
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