A Worshipful Woman Will Choose Well
But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part... Luke 10:42
A worshipful woman will choose well.
Worship is the occupation of my heart and mind with God Himself. But all of us know that there are a thousand things vying for our attention every day. Occupying our hearts and minds with God is no simple task. Unless we choose to make worship a priority in our lives, it will not likely be a consistent, effective, daily practice. We may participate in ‘special occasion’ worship from time to time. Very recently, you were probably part of a meaningful Good Friday service or a joyful Resurrection Sunday celebration. Special days lend themselves well to focusing our hearts and minds on God and what He has done for us, and we look forward to those times of corporate worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We know that those times are necessary and important because God wove them into the fabric of the church. He wants us to worship Him together as family, but the foundation of that corporate worship is the vibrant personal relationships that we have with Him as individuals. The worship we offer to God together will be much richer and deeper if we have first been worshipful on our own.
The Bible records the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha, who were good friends of the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry. He spent a lot of time in their home – imagine having the Son of God as a regular houseguest! Their interaction with Jesus during one of His visits teaches us some important principles for becoming a worshipful woman by learning to choose well.
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42)
Jesus told Martha that one thing was needful. He said that Mary had chosen that good part. What is that one thing, that good part? The Lord Jesus Himself. Mary chose to focus her attention on Jesus, to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). This is the essence of worship. When we make Jesus the priority, when we arrange our lives so that in all things He might have the preeminence (Colossians 1:18), we choose well.
In evaluating the different responses of Mary and Martha to Jesus, some will contrast their personality types. Martha, they say, was Type A, goal-oriented and organized, highly efficient and likely something of a perfectionist. Mary, on the other hand, was laid back, more reflective and meditative, prone to daydreaming and perhaps a little lacking in initiative. It would have been natural, they conclude, for Mary to gravitate to Jesus and His teaching because her personality was bent that way. But that’s not what Jesus said. He specifically referenced her choice. Her worship was not the automatic result of her personality traits. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His words because she chose well.
Could Martha have made the same choice? I believe so. But wait a minute, you may say. Martha had her hands full. The Bible says she received Him, Jesus, into her house. Not only was she responsible for the welfare of the Savior, but her house was probably full of tired, hungry disciples.
She had to get everybody fed, make sure everyone had clean linens, keep all the lights burning...she barely had time to breathe, never mind sit down and listen. But Jesus didn’t criticize Martha for what she was doing. He pointed out the problem with how she was thinking.
You see, worship is primarily a matter of attitude. Worship doesn’t replace life. When you choose to focus on God and give Him the honor and recognition He deserves, life doesn’t stop. You aren’t going to sit in a chair with your Bible and pray all day. Worship doesn’t replace your daily routine.
Worship has to be incorporated into your daily routine. Martha wasn’t wrong to cook and serve and clean and meet needs. Jesus knew that she had the best interests of her guests at heart. But He could see that she had crossed the line from ‘good hostess’ into ‘poor me’ territory. She was consumed, not with how helpful and attentive she could be, but with how overworked and under-appreciated she was. She chose to occupy her heart and mind with her chores and herself. She missed the one thing that is needful, the one thing that really matters, because she failed to choose well.
Notice how Jesus describes Martha’s mindset. He said she was careful, full of care – we would say she was worried – and troubled about many things. Worship cannot coexist with worry.
Worship occupies our minds with God, His goodness, His power, and His love. Worry occupies our minds with whatever overwhelms us at the moment and crowds out all thought of God’s goodness, power, and love. Worry is very human; it’s our natural reaction to difficulty and stress in life. That’s why we have to choose to allow the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and give us the divine ability to worship rather than worry. In Isaiah 26:3, the Bible says, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee. God gives peace to the one who chooses to fix her mind on Him. The verse does not say, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace who serves the perfect meal and has the cleanest house. The verse does not say, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace who spends the most time at Hobby Lobby. The verse does not say, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace who has the most likes on Facebook. Peace is God’s gracious promise to the worshipful woman who chooses well.
Worship is time invested, not time wasted. Martha saw Mary, as many of us do, as somewhat lazy or, at least, oblivious to what she should have been doing. But I believe Mary was neither lazy nor oblivious. She knew there were other things that needed her attention, and I think she had every intention of fulfilling her responsibilities. But she chose to attend to Jesus first, and she found Him to be the one thing that is needful. Martha thought, as many of us do, that her tasks, her reputation, her agenda, made it impossible for her to make room in her schedule to sit at Jesus’ feet and hear His words. She chose to attend to her duties first and lost the approval of the Lord she was trying to serve.
During His ministry on earth, Jesus spent a lot of time addressing the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders who prided themselves on what they thought was valuable spiritual activity. In Matthew 15, He quoted the prophet Isaiah and said, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. His point was that it is easy to talk about loving and serving God, and we can often be caught up in a whirlwind of activity that seems, outwardly, meant to please Him. But He knows what actually exists inwardly and can tell when our hearts are far from Him. This is the danger He wanted Martha to see. Even though she was working hard and attempting to do the right things, her heart was occupied with herself and her circumstances and far from the Lord she was to be worshiping. Jesus was gentle and compassionate with Martha. I can well imagine that she took His words to heart, did some serious soul-searching, and re-aligned her priorities with His. We, too, can respond to Jesus’ gracious reminder and become worshipful women by learning to choose well.
Wanda Mitchell was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and she came to the States to attend Maranatha Baptist University (MBBC then!). Wanda graduated with degree in elementary education. She has since been employed at Heritage Hall Christian School and Grace Baptist Church, Muncie, where she taught for 10 years and has been in elementary administration for 25 years.Wanda enjoys teaching an adult women’s Sunday school class, as well as women’s Bible studies and elective classesHer life’s motivation is I Samuel 12:24, Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider what great things He hath done for you.
