Hello, my name is Christine, and I am a Martha

After reading the passage of Luke 10:38-42, I know that I had a reaction. It was likely not the correct reaction. I know that I have felt exactly like Martha in the past. I read this a few years back and said to myself, “Yes, why isn’t Mary helping”? Ha-ha, oh boy.

I found it very difficult in fact to come to terms that it was ok for Mary to not help. Laziness, or perceived laziness, is a great insult to me. I pride myself on working until everything is done, last one out the door, work-a-holic you say—no, I am just helpful. I took pride in my diligence to be the last one standing to get it all done. And there it is, working for my glory and not God’s. Working for the sake of working my agenda, not God’s. Let the praise be on me, attention be on me and my martyrdom, instead of on building the relationships required with those I love and with God. I had plenty of time to work, plenty of time to do what I thought was important, and judged others who did not put in those extra hours.

Only this year did it finally click. I am a human being, not a human doing. I have missed opportunities with my family, with friends, with myself, and most importantly with God.

We all see it in others, where they prioritize the wrong thing. We are quick to notice. Yet, with our own behaviors, it may take years, decades to pinpoint our errors in prioritization. This is me.

So yes, I am a Martha. And I must actively work daily to be a Mary. It is a constant struggle to not fall back into my Martha tendencies. But I am a work in progress, every day trying to be more like Mary and less like Martha. Every day, I work to be in God’s word, with God, more open, less rigid, more being, less doing, more understanding, less prideful. Only through God, with his help, can I make these changes.

Luke 10:38-42

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”