Marthas Anonymous

Luke 10:2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

I’ll admit it, I’m a Martha.  It’s really nothing to be proud of, and yet, I tend to wear it like a badge of honor.  If Jesus were to come to my house for dinner, I would absolutely be the one bustling around trying to get the food on the table, frustrated because Mary wouldn’t help, and annoyed with Jesus for not appreciating my efforts. 

I think I might be a stress junkie…or worse, an approval junkie.  I tend to get the most approval when I default to my Martha ways, picking up the slack here, lending a hand there, making promises that I have to back out on later because I’ve over-extended myself, and constantly fighting with the guilt that comes from sitting down.  In an effort to appease that inner nagging, this Single Girl can book a whole week with others-oriented activities and wake up on Sunday with a do-gooder hangover and a heart full of resentment.  See…being a Martha is nothing to boast about. 

And then I got to thinking about the verse about the “Lord of the harvest.”  And I’m just certain that God put it on my heart because I started to look at it in a completely different way.  You see, I always focused on the “harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few” part.  After all, that’s the kind of verse you use on Bible College students when you want them to feel a sense of urgency about going into the ministry.  And, indeed, there is an urgency.  So, a Martha like me just runs out into the field at full speed, trying to harvest all alone.  And when someone draws my attention to another field, what can I do but run to that field, then back to the first field, and then add a third, fourth, and fifth field?  But upon further inspection, I noticed that the verse doesn’t say:  “pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would give you supernatural determination to work yourself sick.”  Of course not.  It says something much more practical:  “pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.” 

Do you think I ever do that?  Nope. Why not?
 

Because I don’t like how I might look to someone if instead of saying “yes,” to whatever service they want me for, I instead say, “Let me pray that God will send the right person for that ministry.”  I mean, seriously, how’s an approval-junkie supposed to get a fix in a situation like that?

Which makes me think…maybe my crazy/busy life is less about God and more about…me.  How’s that for humbling?

So, I guess it’s time to get real with my events calendar and do some pruning…and some praying…and some sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Any advice from former-Marthas out there?