Doing vs Being

Introduction

Why is it that our Christianity so easily becomes just another thing to do? Maybe this morning, you picked up the toys of the living room floor for the millionth time because you planned on having the Johnson’s over for lunch. As you walked back to your room you noticed you son dropped some Cheerios on the floor. Your trying to do your hair while holding a toddler on one hip. We have prepared our Sunday school lessons, and warmed up our voices for choir. We are going to go and do this thing and then maybe after church we can take a nap. Meanwhile, we forgot to spend anytime with the Lord today. Its alright, He knows I’m doing all this to serve Him today anyways we tell ourselves. Church, worship, preaching, teaching become just another thing to do.

With the busyness of our lives, Christianity can just become another thing to do. Christianity is often about do, do, do. Make sure you do come to church, do your devotions, do evangelism, do parent your children they way you should. As a pastor I need to study, fellowship, preach, plan, visit, counsel but all of this is doing. After all doesn’t God expect us to serve Him? The answer is not a simple yes or no. God’s does want us to serve Him, but there is something He wants more than mere service. In our text today, we are going to look at the life of two sisters who entertained Jesus one day. Because often our problem is like the problem that Mary and Martha faced: we get our priorities out of wack.

Martha’s Problem vs 38,40

Martha did what was expected of her received Him into her house Sometimes it is easy to think that I wouldn’t have been like Martha, but Martha was the host. This was her house and she had certain responsibilities. She also was doing exactly what her culture expected her to do. Christian culture sometimes demands that we do certain things. As long as you are doing those certain things, you are a good godly Christian; and if you aren’t doing those certain things, you must not be a godly Christian. Subtly, there is a pressure to perform because we want people to think well of us.

Martha was distracted by the busyness of her life- cumbered about much serving- The word cumbered about here means to be distracted by, but it also includes the idea of a weight. Maybe the best analogy would be trying to enjoy a stroll through the woods with a 200 lb bag on your back. All you can think about it keeping this bag up; so you can’t focus on what you were there to do in the first place. Mary was so busy that she forgot who it was that was in her house. Jesus should have been the focus of her attention.

Martha doubted God’s goodness- dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone- This is a rhetorical question and in Greek it actually tells us what the intended answer to the question is. Martha is assuming that Jesus doesn’t care about how hard things are for her. She is doubting God’s goodness. Sometimes we can feel so weighed down with all the craziness of life that we think god just doesn’t care. He just wants me to keep grinding away under this burden. Jesus said Matt 11:29-30 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” I mentioned this verse in passing last week, but I want us to meditate a little bit more on its truth. It is a command to serve God- take my yoke. But it is couched in a truth about the heart of Jesus. Jesus says I am meek and lowly. What this means is that Jesus is gentle and humble. His heart is not abusive, it is not demanding, it is not merely about Him. But what this verse reminds us of is that service for God is meant to be service with God. While we take his yoke upon us, Jesus calls us to see Him. To know Him- He is gently and lowly. And the promise is ye shall find rest Vs 28 says I will give you rest. If you are serving God and you have become over burdened by the work, you need to ask yourself two questions, Is this verse true? and secondly, If I am not experiencing rest, is it because I have lost sight of the gentle and lowly heart of Jesus? It is amazing how easily we can slip into feeling just like Martha and doubting God’s goodness.

Martha was anxious and in a tizzy- careful and troubled- Because Martha forgot God’s goodness, she felt like she needed to take it all upon herself. She couldn’t stop and just be with Jesus. Do you see the progression here:

doubt God’s goodness- He can take care of it

take it all upon yourself

work yourself up into a state of anxiety and lose control

Martha’s Problem was that she was so busy serving the Lord that she had no time to spend with the Lord. When we are truly being with Jesus we discover his gentle and lowly heart. We find rest even in the busyness. Martha forgot what the most important thing in her life.

Mary’s choice vs 39

This story is so real because we see how families often times get into little spats with one another. They bicker, complain and pick at each other. These two women were dear to the heart of Jesus and they walked with God and yet the little things caused problems between them sometimes. But in this story, Mary and Martha made different choices.

Mary made a choice- sat- the literally meaning is she sat herself. She took the initiative to sit where she could be with Jesus. She chose to stop doing one thing so she could do another. Sometimes we can think of Mary as lazy, or act like she is the picture of a Christian who does nothing for God, but that is not what this passage say. Notice in verse 40 that Martha complains that Mary had left her. This implication is that Mary had been working. She was not being lazy. Mary made a choice to pick the most important thing. As I mentioned earlier in the text, this was not culturally acceptable, but Mary was not going to be denied what she truly needed. When was the last time we fought to experience the presence of God in our prayer time? Or has our prayer time also become merely something to do.

Mary put herself in a position of a disciple not merely just a servant. at Jesus’ feet- this position was one that was reserved for men only in their culture, but Mary was not just going to serve Jesus, she wanted to be with Jesus and learn from Jesus. Work, accomplishment all make us feel better about ourselves, but being a disciple involved humbling ourselves. Both servants and disciples are underneath someone, but you know what the difference between them is? A servant works for his master while a disciple spends time with his master.

Mary listened to Jesus and heard his word. Relationships are built on communication. When we talk about doing verses being, the focus must be on relationship with Jesus Christ. The priority in our Christianity must be on hearing from God in His word and talking to God in prayer. Not as a task to mark off, but as a pursuit of God Himself.

Jesus Commendation vs 41-42

Jesus addressed Martha with love and concern- Martha, Martha- Again we see the gentleness of the heart of Jesus. He doesn’t berate Martha. This use of saying someone’s name twice was a way of showing compassion and a close relationship with someone.

Jesus recognized that Mary had chosen something that was necessary and lacking in her life. that one needful thing- This word needful means something that is lacking but necessary. Mary needed time with Jesus. Do we feel that same need in our lives? When our day started off running, do we yearn or miss time with Jesus?

Jesus commended her for choosing the more beneficial thing in her life. -good part- The thing Mary had chosen was better. Service is good even necessary in the Christian life, but service without relationship is merely legalism and hypocrisy. Mary had chosen the most essential part of Christianity.

He would not take that from her even to get her to do more service.

Conclusion

This passage lays a foundation for a truth that you must get: Jesus prioritizes being with Him over doing for Him.

Doing is important, but doing without relationship is ineffective. It produces no real fruit.

James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

John 15:4-5 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

Service is fleshly without spiritual relationship.

The trouble with too many of us is that we think God called us to be manufacturers when He really called us to be distributors. He alone has the resources to meet human needs; all we can do is receive His riches and share them with others. Warren W. Wiersbe

2. Our relationship is the experience of eternal life

John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Phil 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”

3. When someone is truly being in a relationship with the Lord, the doing will flow out of the being.

Prov 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.”

Being is foundational to our doing. All of our work for the Lord should come out of the overflow of our relationship with the Lord. On a practical note, have you ever wondered why it is so hard sometimes to encourage people to serve God by giving out the gospel. It is because something is wrong with the relationship. I’m not saying everything is wrong with their relationship with God, but something is wrong.

4. Being gives power to doing

2 Cor 3:5-6 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”

Periodically, we need to be reminded of the most important thing in our lives. I am thankful that someone as loved by Jesus as Martha struggled with this problem because it is so common among Christians.