I can’t tell you how many times I have read about the story of sisters, Mary and Martha in the Bible. It has been used as an example for women for a long time. If you don’t know, the story is found in Luke Chapter 10. There are two sisters that have Jesus over to their home and Martha is busy in the kitchen and basically making it feel like ‘home’ as much as she can for Jesus. While Martha is rushing around, Mary is simply sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to everything He has to say. Martha gets frustrated and asks Jesus, “Don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me?” And Jesus basically says, “Martha, you are getting yourself all worked up for nothing. Mary gets it and it’s not about doing things around the house.”

So, most preachers or teachers ask the question, “Who are you most like, Mary or Martha?” And you are set up to make a decision between the two sisters. I would say that most women would like to say that they are Mary but are probably Martha. But for me, I know that I am more like Martha. And it makes me think that I am wrong and kinda shamed in a sense for doing instead of being. I have to believe that Martha had a great heart and just wanted the best for Jesus. Who wouldn’t want that for a special guest in their home? And I know that if I was working hard that I would be frustrated to see my sister sitting there doing nothing to help. Putting myself in that situation it would be hard to hear Jesus tell me that I have it wrong and I need to do what Mary is doing. When I read that I think that Mary is right, Martha is wrong.

I think that we can often get caught up in ‘doing’ and forget that what is most important is just spending time being with Jesus. And that is what He wants most for us. He has gifted us in many different ways and wants us to use our giftings to glorify Him. There is nothing wrong with that. For Martha, maybe she had the gifting of hospitality and was doing her best to make everything perfect. That’s not wrong, but I just picture Jesus taking her hands and saying, “Sit with me. Leave the dishes in the sink. Leave the food on the table. Sit with me.” That might be out of Martha’s comfort zone but it’s still good for her to do. She connects with the one who created her and knows her by name. The One that loves her whether everything is perfect or not. He loves her for who she is and not what she can do.

So, lets not focus on Mary and Martha or right vs. wrong, rather, lets be reminded that what we DO for Jesus is not most important. It’s being with Jesus. Our relationship with Him. When was the last time you read your Bible? Spent time in prayer? Journaled? Sat and listened to worship music? Our relationship is most important and if we don’t take care of it, we can find ourselves losing that close relationship we once had.

“Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with the tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” – Colossians 3:12