A Tale of Two Sisters

Martha was distracted by her many tasks, . . . and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” —Luke 10:40

In Luke 10, Jesus and some of His followers visited the home of Mary and Martha. At first, we assume, Martha was excited to see them.

But as she scrambled to clean, cook, and make sure everyone was properly served and comfortably settled (while Mary chose to sit at Jesus’ feet), a host of turbulent thoughts and attitudes swirled in her head and heart.

Martha had grown irritated, impatient, demanding. Serving was no longer a privilege but a burden. The friends she had set out to serve had become to her a bother.

And beyond just being selfishly upset, Martha was willing to risk building a wall between herself and her sister. When self-controlled thinking goes missing, unkindness all too often shows up in its place, and relationships take a hit.

If we want to adorn the doctrine and gospel of Christ and His beauty to the world, we need a different kind of heart. A kind kind of heart.