I love this passage of Scripture because I can relate to it. The Greek word for “troubled” is turbazo which conveys the idea of stirring up sediment in a glass of water, reflecting Martha's anxiety and distraction with many tasks. Just like water can be made murky and unclear when disturbed, so also can the human mind be boggled down and cluttered with we start to worry, fret and become frustrated unnecessary.
Martha didn't need to make a fuss over her sister Mary not helping her in the kitchen. So often people cause needless emotional trauma for themselves by minding other people's business, thinking about things that don't involve us, and complaining because we think we're being treated unfairly. So often what we think about ourselves is not based upon what we think, or even what other people think, but upon what we think others are thinking about us.
Martha's mind was murky because she did that to herself. The best attitude we can have is to just do what we are supposed to do, and not worry or complain about others. There but for the grace of God, go I. Martha was a responsible adult. She had guests in her home and there was much to do to entertain them with food and drinks. Things weren't as convenient back then as they are today. She couldn't just grab a bag of Doritos or Cheese Puffs to hand to their guests. Pizza Rolls and microwaves weren't invented yet. Preparing food was a lot of work.
Martha's sister Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet listening to His every Word. That greatly upset Martha. After trying to handle everything herself, she finally got angry and complained to Jesus that Mary wasn't helping her. I humbly think if Martha had respectfully asked Jesus if Mary could please help her in the kitchen, He might have responded different, but she got upset instead and complained about her sister. So often we react wrongly to situations which make things worse. There is always a right way and a wrong way to respond to a given situation.
I think Martha's first mistake was that she didn't join Mary at Jesus' feet to hear His Words. I mean, it's not every day that God's only begotten Son visits your home! Would it have really mattered if she spent 15 minutes at His feet before preparing the food? That's just my opinion.
Second, when Martha went into the kitchen, she should have focused on her own work and not worry about what he sister was or wasn't doing. Jesus even denied Martha's request for Mary to come help her. Jesus refused her request, saying that “Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42b). It is always a good thing to listen to the inspired Words of God (John 6:63).
I can relate much to Martha because I am a responsible person who likes to get things done today rather than tomorrow. Why do later what I can do now? I don't like to procrastinate. I like to get things done right away. But there is a negative flipside to being that kind of person, which is that I tend to worry, overthink and get frustrated easily, like Martha.
Martha was not a bad woman at all, she was just too serious and businesslike. Those who have followed my website ministry over the years years know that I tend to be on the serious serious most of the time. I rarely use humor. I am more of a serious type of preacher, getting right down to business, saying what needs to be said without beating around the bush. I like to get right to the point. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy laughing and good humor, but I tend to be a more serious kind of guy. I'm more of a follower than a leader. I enjoy supporting the Lord's soldiers on the frontlines from the rear, providing needed support for the team. I have had numerous pastors thank me over the past 24 years for my website ministry, for providing valuable resources for other preachers and Christian layman alike. To God be the glory.
We can learn a valuable lesson as believers from this biblical account of Martha and Mary. God recorded this incident for our learning, to help us not to become needlessly troubled like Martha. A lot of people can relate to Martha, as I can. There are a lot of people like Martha in the world who tend to think too much.
In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells an interesting story about a man who owned a field. He hired some laborers early in the day who agreed to work for a penny. As the day progresses and he needs to get the work done, the owner hires more men, who also agree to work for a penny. Even at the eleventh hour, the owner hires more men to get the work done, offering them one penny for one hour of work. The men who worked all day became angry. They complained to the owner of the field, whining that he paid some workers a penny for only an hour of labor, when they worked all day for one penny. The owner reminds the men that it is his money to do with as he pleases, and he emphasizes the fact that they all agreed to work for twelve hours for one penny. He paid them exactly what was agreed upon.
I love this Bible passage because it settles a lot of disputes in the business world today. I have never liked worker's unions because they bully employers. Any worker can quit and walk out the door any time they want. No one forces them to work in unhealthy, dangerous or unfair wages. They stay because they choose to stay. The popular excuse is that “I need this job,” but that doesn't make it okay to form a union that forces companies to pay higher wages.
Sadly, corporations and employers historically have tended to abuse workers. But unions have become equally abusive, strong-arming companies with threats, violence and harassment. The inspired Holy Bible is very clear that a business owner has a right to pay whatever he wants, and if you don't want the job you don't have to accept it. But if you agree to work a certain number of hours in exchange for a certain amount of pay, you don't have a right to complain and accuse your employer of cheating you.
I once had a casual friend who was foolish in his thinking. A pastor had offered a homeless man a box of food and $10 for a day's work, for which the man gladly agreed. My friend accused the church pastor of taking advantage of the man, making him do hard manual labor for a ridiculously low wage. Kindly said, my friend was very wrong biblically. That pastor did nothing wrong! The homeless man agreed of his own free will to work all day for $10 and a box of food, which he received as promised. It upsets me how spoiled rotten this corrupt young generation is today, demanding minimum wage.
Look, if I offer you $10 to work for 8 hours mowing my grass, pulling weeds and laboring in my garden in the hot summer sun and you agree, I have done nothing wrong. I don't care if the minimum wage is $14 an hour, you agreed to work for $1.25 an hour.
Yet, some ungodly critic would accuse me of wrongdoing, because people are much troubled in their thinking. Just like Martha, millions of Americans whine and complain incessantly whenever they receive an apple instead of an orange, or their lollypop isn't the same color as the next guy's, or my hotdog is longer than yours. We all need to focus on walking by faith to please God, and stop looking at what everyone else is doing (or not doing).
What saith the Scripture? 2nd Corinthians 10:12, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” I could drive myself crazy with comparing my life, wife, marriage, ministry, health, house, accomplishments and career with my peers that I graduated Bible college with in 1993, but the Bible says that would be foolish. It is unwise to make comparisons, simply because we are all dealt different cards in life. We all have had different opportunities, different luck, different paths, different families, different experiences, et cetera. Although we control some aspects of our own lives, there is also much that we have no control over.
I am now 59 years old. I cannot believe how fast the time has passed over the decades. The older I grow in grace, the more I realize how important it is to simply trust upon the Lord, and lean not upon my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-7). I cannot see tomorrow, but God can. So, I need to trust He who hold the future. God fully understands that we are feeble, frail and weak flesh. Psalm 103:13-14, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.”
I choose to trust the Lord, instead of worrying about tomorrow. Today, all I can do is labor for Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel, contend for the faith, love my neighbour as myself, and live each moment to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
