All the glory evermore to Him
When I first got started in ministry, I was at a church that was adding a contemporary service. Since it was new, we didn’t expect many people to attend. So, to help shrink the size of our sanctuary, the pastor bought nice ropes to section off some pews and encourage everyone to sit in a certain area of the sanctuary.
The night before, we met at the church, prayed for the service, and made sure everything was set up for the first contemporary service, including the ropes. By the time the service was over Sunday morning, the ropes were gone! Apparently, the pastor had blocked off “someone’s seat,” and they took it upon themselves to make sure the ropes never appeared again.
It’s funny how much importance we give to something as simple as a seat in a pew…
Back then, we all had a good laugh about it while also being mildly frustrated. However, looking back now from a completely different stage of life, I have some insight that I didn’t have back then.
The vision was never communicated. There was no communication to the church prior to the inaugural service indicating that we wanted people to sit in the first few pews. It was just something we were going to say that morning. Imagine you came home and suddenly your key wouldn’t fit in your door because your spouse changed the locks but didn’t tell you. (Yes, this is an over exaggeration of an example, but it illustrates the point and the next point well.) They may have had a very good reason for doing so, but if they didn’t tell you it was coming, then your first response would probably be shock, anger, and wondering if your spouse still loved you.
Priorities were out of balance: Did it really matter where anyone sat? No. The most important thing that morning was that we would gather together as a body of believers to praise and glorify God and to deepen our relationship with Him. That doesn’t mean the pastor was wrong for trying to encourage people to sit together. That doesn’t mean the “rope stealer” was wrong for having a preferred seat.
But it does serve as a warning to us “Every good things that takes on more weight that God intended becomes a bad thing, something disruptive and dangerous”1 While not necessarily the direct implication of the story of Mary and Martha, I think this thought is important to keep in mind as we read the words of Luke 10:38-42.
Case in point: because of the words of Jesus in verse 42 — “but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” — Martha is often looked down upon. We tend to read that and automatically rank Mary as better than Martha, when both were doing what they were doing out of love for Christ. It’s more likely that this is an example of a priority that had become a little out of balance.
Every church has their Marys and their Marthas. Every church has a set of people who find it easier to do something for Jesus than to sit with Jesus (Martha), and every church has people who could sit in the sanctuary in the presence of the Lord for hours (Mary).
Here is the thing: if either of these takes on more weight than it should, then it is no longer a good thing.
In John 15:4, we see that both dwelling in the presence of the Lord and action are expected.
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
Jesus tells His followers to abide or remain in Him. However, He doesn’t stop there. He goes on to talk about how we will not be able to do anything for God unless we abide in Him.
God wants us to join Him in the work He is doing in the world. At the same time, we can’t effectively accomplish those things without God being a part of it. If we attempt to do so, The Act (sitting in your seat) becomes more important than the Reason you’re doing it (worship of God).
Personally, I’m a “Martha.” It’s more natural for me to do than to be. In fact, I often find that in attempts to be with Jesus, I have to fight off thoughts about all the things I should be doing for Him. As a Martha-type personality, I have to fight the urge to elevate ‘doing’ as superior to ‘being’. It should not be an either/or war that rages within me, but a desire for both.
To quote Pastor Chuck’s study guide for this week: “Healthy believers learn to balance devoted worship with faithful service.”
I think the final verse of “Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me” summarizes well what we are to be:
With every breath I long to follow Jesus
For He has said that He will bring me home
And day by day I know He will renew me
Until I stand with joy before the throne
To this I hold: my hope is only Jesus
All the glory evermore to Him
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
With every fiber of our being, in all that we do, our goal should be to glorify Christ.
In Mark 12:28-30, Jesus is asked which commandment is the greatest.
“28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that He answered them well, asked Him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ 29 Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”’”
He doesn’t answer them with one of the Ten Commandments; instead, He goes back to the Shema prayer in Deuteronomy. Jesus said the greatest commandment is that you love God with everything you have — that in every opportunity and with every fiber of your being, you seek to glorify Him.
That would include our reason for ‘doing’ and our reason for ‘being’. The greatest thing we can do is to do either out of our love for God with the goal of glorifying Him.
Spend some time this week examining your life. Are you more naturally a Mary- or Martha-type personality? Once you figure that out, spend some time praying and reflecting on John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” Ask God to help you identify some ways you can work toward a healthier balance of doing and being in your life.
If you’re a Martha-type personality like me, you may find it beneficial to scale back your “doing” by spending less time on something you’re not gifted at so you can spend more time “being” in the presence of God. As a Martha-type personality, I can tell you that simply doing less isn’t the goal, that doesn’t help us with our balance. We need to repurpose that time to be time spent with God.
If you’re a Mary-type personality, it may mean asking God what He wants you to do with the encounters you have with Him.
Remember, the goal is not either/or. It’s both devoted worship and faithful service, with the key to it all being: For His Glory!
- Paul David Tripp, Lead: 12 Gospel Principles for Leadership in the Church (Crossway, 2020), p. 90.
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