Becoming Like Martha: Women Who Take God at His WordНамуна

Don’t Be a Martha?

Chances are, if you’ve read the story of Jesus in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany in Luke 10, you’ve found yourself identifying with one of the sisters. Do you feel for Mary, who seized the opportunity to learn from Jesus and was scolded for it by her older sister? Or perhaps you feel for Martha, serving everyone alone with no help from her sister.

It’s only too easy to turn this story into a personality test for Christian women. “Marys” are more inclined to deep thinking and study while “Marthas” are the doers. However, when we distill these women down into personality types and form camps, we can miss the heart of the story and in the process turn Martha into a cautionary tale. We can begin to believe that the text elevates one woman over another and that “Marthas” should temper their personality with a healthy dose of “Mary.” Indeed, it’s Mary who has found the “good portion” and Martha who receives Jesus’ gentle correction. But what is Jesus correcting, and where did Martha go wrong? Is Jesus instructing her to be more like her sister?

Over the next few days, we’ll take a holistic view of Martha, one that avoids pigeonholing her into a personality type and instead examines her within her cultural context. We will touch upon all three stories in the Bible that reference her and trace her progression from a woman fraught with worry to one who humbly serves with confident faith.

There is room at Jesus’ feet for every woman with every kind of bent. The Kingdom needs “doers” and “dreamers” and everyone in between. There is good news here for Mary, for Martha, for every follower of Christ.

Ponder: What comes to mind when you think of Martha of Bethany? Is she someone you’ve ever sought to emulate? Why or why not?

Pray: Abba, You have carefully formed each and every one of us. Help me submit all of who I am to Your Lordship. May I find peace in Your knowledge of me and joy in surrendering to Your way. Amen.