Growth

Martha’s Bad Rap

For Sunday School graduates, the name Martha is associated with the woman who was so busy preparing dinner that she didn’t realize that she was in the presence of her Savior. Martha is chided for being so worried about worldly things, that she wasn’t concerned with things of heaven. Her sister, Mary, however is revered for her demonstration of worship at Jesus’ feet.

Surely this wasn’t the first time in history that one sister has been praised, while another was derided, and it certainly won’t be the last. However, this portrayal is incomplete. While this might be the story that is most often associated with Martha, it’s not the only time that she is mentioned in the Bible. At her brother’s Lazurus’ death she also plays a central role. This time however, she’s the one who should be commended.

Lazurus had died and the sisters were grieving. When Jesus, their friend, finally came, it was Martha who ran out and greeted him. It was Martha who first acknowledged that had Jesus wanted to, He could have prevented Lazurus’ death. It was Martha who testified that God would give Jesus whatever He asked. Finally, it was Martha who first made a profession of faith; she was the one who stated that Jesus was the Christ.

I’d like to think that maybe Mary learned the truth about worship from this experience. With Lazurus dead, she stayed at the house, while her sister Martha ran to the Lord’s presence. Maybe it was her sister’s example of real-life faith that caused her to realize the importance of learning who Christ was. Maybe her lifestyle of worship was the direct result of her sister’s proclamation.

I don’t know if this is the case, and this side of heaven I doubt I ever will. But maybe Martha’s a model to follow after all.

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Growth

$57

Fifty-seven dollars. That’s how much a seat costs at my church. Before you start questioning the theology of my church and wondering whether we sell tickets like church is a sporting event, $57 is the cost of the new chairs that we just purchased. Our pastor has been encouraging us to “buy our chair” – to help donate in order to defray some of the expense. It’s a good idea and probably one that has a lot of merit. (However, as a side note, my dad thinks it really should be $28.50 since they use the chairs for two services. I think the congregation should wait until we go to three services – that’s when it will be a really good investment). J

Now, talking about money at church is always a tough subject, and I happen to believe our pastor handles it better than most. But even with his dexterity, I had a hard time with the request for $57. Not because I don’t believe that the church shouldn’t be self-supported – I do. But it seemed like such a tragedy that the request was even made

I live in Orange County, CA – a place where the magnitude of material wealth is staggering. I don’t know the statistics, but I would guess that if Orange County would fall off into the ocean, we’d still have a larger economy than a lot of developed nations. And the church I go to is filled with people who are benefactors of this wealth. They have been blessed materially in ways that many can’t imagine. I would guess that many of them probably spend more than $57 on their Saturday night meal – so donating it to the church for the chair shouldn’t be a problem. And yet, it often is.

I think the root of the problem lays in the fact that we think of the money we have as ours instead of God’s. Somehow, we feel like we are doing Him a favor when we give it away – even to His church. We like to think it’s our decision how we spend it – and if we choose to spend it on His work – well, then kudos for us.

But not really. Because the fact that we give anything to God isn’t what’s significant. The truly amazing part is that God even gives us the opportunity to participate in His work. He could have chosen otherwise. He could have chosen to accomplish His purposes here on Earth through His own volition. But instead, He allows us to join with Him – if we want to.

How often do we choose otherwise so that we can spend our resources on something else?

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