MY WANT

Luke 10:38-42 KJV
38 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.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 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.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

In these scriptures it is commonly pointed out that Mary chose to listen to Jesus, hence to hear God’s Word. The actions of Mary are expected whenever the Lord is present because He knows so much more than we do, so the lesser in knowledge should give place to the greater in knowledge. Mary represents one type of believer who esteems their time with God as the most important meeting of the day. This type of believer craves quality fellowship with God over fellowship with man. This is often taught in churches as a quality to be developed in every believer and we (ihlcc) do agree. However, today we will examine Martha in this story because there is something to be learned from her behavior, also. Martha represents the heart of a servant of Christ who’s main purpose in life is to serve others. Since others are a part of their normal thinking they sometimes fall into the trap of including others in their plans. This can happen very easily if someone exalts their ministry over another ministry in the Body of Christ. Your life is your ministry unto the Lord and your personality is your own personal gift from God. Therefore, no one should be forced to live by your rules (thoughts, beliefs, passions, etc…) because they must follow their own heart before God. It seems to be more easier for a person with a servants heart to drift over into trying to orchestrate the plans for another because they think a lot about other people. In this example with Martha we all agree that she wanted to do a good thing but the Lord revealed to her that she had many problems. The reason it was “many” is because “many” people were present so if you are a people pleaser it makes sense that you would have “many” problems. The Lord told Martha specifically that she was careful and it is that carefulness that was causing her problems (troubles). Generally people who display this trait will also bring carefulness to others if given a chance because they want others to do as they see fit. The problem with that is those same others (Mary, for instance) might not look at life or each situation in the same light as Martha does. Generally speaking, the more things you want in life or as a part of your life the more things you will probably want from other people. If people like Martha don’t learn to narrow their wants to their own personal desires while excluding others they will always have carefulness and troubles. In Life it is very easy to want all things, however we (ihlcc) have found this simple statement to prevail in situations and circumstances on this earth involving other people.

“For your life I want what you want and for my life I want exactly what I want!”

This is a statement of truth but sadly enough many people can not accept this belief. The statement is more than a notion it is an act of their will that requires strength and a active (engaged, operative) faith in God to understand. Oh how we (ihlcc) wish all people could truly rejoice for the other person’s happiness but all too often people tie their happiness (like Martha) to the actions of another (like Mary). The dilemma that those who cannot accept this statement find themselves in is one of frustration and unhappiness because their plans which include others may not always work-out as they imagined. Martha lost sight of the fact that she was serving Jesus according to His Will not her own will.

“When you decide to do your own will apart from the Lord
you will always walk contrary to (in disharmony with, or in discord with)
the people who are doing God’s Will with the Lord.”

Martha thought it more important to do her will rather then ask Jesus for His Will, hence Martha’s frustration with Mary and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not that others want them to be unhappy, it is simply a matter of each person being the captain of their own ship. This personal journey basically translates into each person being the leader (initiator) of their own happiness and joy. Since Joy (and happiness) is a gift from God to all those who want it, it is not fair to ask a happy/joyful person (like Mary) to trade-in their joy and happiness for your personal satisfaction (like Martha). People who are firmly (truly, completely) satisfied can only find this satisfaction by resting in Christ Jesus because all hope in man will ultimately lead to disappointment. Satisfaction is basically a decision by each person not founded upon the actions of every one else. If only we truly loved one another as God loves us we would better experience the mental, emotional and physical pleasure of being exactly who we are in Christ Jesus. We should (must) always remember God made you to be a certain way in fit into His Will for your life so only He is qualified to judge your motives, thoughts, decisions and actions. The more older (mature) we (ihlcc) become the more clearly we see this truth and that revelation persuades us to never relinquish this principle of truth or position of freedom while living upon this earth in our pursuit of extended happiness and joy in Heaven. Our prayer for all those who read this article (our thoughts on the subject of personal wants) is that they would learn to think of others before they think of making plans that include others because those same others may of already made plans for themselves. Yes, Mary already had a plan to glean the rich fruit of knowledge, peace and joy from the Lord Jesus Christ independently of Martha’s plans. As verse 42 of Luke 10 states, “But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” Mary was right on target for her ministry. Martha, on the other hand, lost focus on her ministry with God simple because she exalted her service for the Lord to a higher level than spending time with the Lord. As New Testament believers we would be wise to remember that God had numerous servants in the Old Testament who did what He said but He now has children in the New Testament who are supposed to be like Him. If Martha represents the Old Testament servant who does good works we can clearly recognize the change in this New Testament of Grace where the Lord desires our fellowship more than our service. Yes, being a hand of the God as a servant (Martha) is good but having the heart of God as a disciple who listens to Jesus (Mary) is better. Martha chose exactly what she wanted and it was the wrong choice which could have resulted in pulling others into her carefulness and troubles whereas Mary chose the right thing to please herself and God. We hope that you will make the right decision to follow your heart and allow others to follow their own heart free from your judgment or comment because –

if you want what they want for their own life excluding you,
you will always be content to separately focus on exactly what you want
for your own life excluding them. Amen.

Remember the key is the Love of God in the spirit of peace and joy and happiness of others over your personal goals, desires and will because we represent Christ Jesus not our own self. If you display this proper attitude in Christ and others don’t it is between them and God, so don’t worry about it because if you do you will be full of care and have many troubles. As the scripture states so directly (candidly) in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 that you study God’s Word to keep your tongue quiet while you purpose to do your own business because the two are mutually tied together. Those who keep their mouth shut about the business of others rarely have a problem with being a busy body in the affairs of others. Now go thou and do likewise in the Power of Peace to bring the Presence of God into your daily affairs of life inside the Body of Christ. Amen

In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster

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