Are You A Mary Or Martha In The Body of Christ?

 

I recently had a very interesting conversation with one of my brothers-in-law about working for God or resting in His sovereign rule. As a result, I immediately thought of Mary and Martha. For those of you who do not know who Mary and Martha are, they are literally the sisters of Lazarus, the man whom Jesus raised from the dead. I believe that in the universal Church, there are many "Marys" and there are many "Marthas" too. What I mean by this is that there are Christians who believe that they must do more work for God, while there are those Christians who believe they need to just rest in Christ. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in the value of hard work. Currently, I have been working tirelessly toward getting my Biblical Counseling certification, leading Bible studies, and I have even earned my Mental Health First Aid certificate. So, please do not mistake this blog as me promoting slothfulness. I am aware that as Christians, we should work with our hands diligently as we glorify God with what we do and with what He has given us. The purpose of this blog is to discuss how simply resting in Christ and learning from Him is more beneficial than trying to work for our salvation. I will base my blog on Luke 10:38-42, and I will give three reasons to support my thesis. In case you are not familiar with Luke 10:38-42, it says the following, 

"Now, as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me". But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her." 

As we can see from this text that Martha was "distracted" by her many works, while Mary was content to simply sit and listen to Jesus. I believe that Martha was an archetype of many Christians today because so many of us seem to have become distracted by "many things". These things may be good things, such as ministry work, charity work, and any other humanitarian work. However, when we start to focus on these things as a way to earn God's favor (which I believe many sincere Christians do), then these works become idolatrous. Another thing we see from this text is that Mary was spoken highly of by the Lord Himself. Jesus literally said that we really need "one thing". What was that "one thing"? Well, when we turn to Matthew 4:1-4, we read the following, 

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. ' But he answered, 'It is written, One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. 

Reason #1 

What do you think of when you read this verse? When I read this, I understand that man was not meant to work ourselves into the ground. We need more than merely working for bread. No, we need to listen to "every word that comes from the mouth of God". Learning from Jesus is the true bread that we all need in this life and the next. This is why Jesus told Martha that she chose what was the better thing. You see, Mary understood that she needed to actually hear from Jesus more than she needed to do work for Jesus. This is why Jesus showed her great favor. So many Christians out there feel that if they are not doing more for Jesus that they are being "slothful". Trust me, I completely understand this because when I feel like I am taking too long a break from my work, I tend to feel very guilty because I am being "slothful". However, in those times when we are feeling that way, we should draw closer to Jesus so that we can learn from Him concerning what He wants us to do. I believe that God puts us in what would seem to be "slothful" seasons in our lives because He wants us to take the time to really learn what we need to learn from Him. The Christian faith is not always about "Do Do Do" but instead it is about "Learn, Live, Learn" 

Reason #2

When Mary was content with sitting at our Lord's feet, she was showing true humility because she realized that she did not have it all figured out. Mary knew that she needed to depend on Christ. We all should be like Mary because we are all finite and frail human beings who are prone to sin. You see, Martha was guilty of the sin of pride. Martha believed that if she did enough work for Christ, then He would approve of her because He was pleased by her performance. However, this was not the case. In reality, Jesus favored Mary for her humility, while He reprimanded Martha for her pride in looking down on her sister. How many Marthas do you know in the Bride who look down on the Marys in the Bride? I am pretty sure that there are more Marthas than we care to believe there are. 

Reason #3

This story of Mary and Martha should show us that we are all equal before God. Sure, I said that there are many Marthas and Marys in the Bride of Christ, but I do not believe that all Christians are either Mary or Martha all the time. As we read in Romans 3, none are good because we have all fallen astray, so this means that any of us can fall into the Mary or Martha category at any given time. I know that in my own personal life, I tend to sometimes be a Mary (where I am content with merely learning from Jesus), and there are times when I am a Martha (where I feel like I need to constantly do more for Jesus).  So, the "Mary and Martha" paradigm I am using is more of a spectrum than it is a categorical system. I cannot stress enough that any one of us can fall into the Mary or Martha categories at any given time. When we feel we are more like Mary, it is because the Lord has us there so we can learn from Him. When we fall into the Martha category, we need to analyze our own hearts so we can see what our underlying motives are for doing the work we are doing. 

I hope that this blog has helped you better understand the Mary and Martha spectrum. Are you constantly working to obtain favor from the Lord? Or are you resting in His sovereign care? Or, are you right in the middle of the spectrum? Regardless of where you are, I do not cast judgment upon you. I understand what it is like to be a Martha because when I was younger in the faith, I felt like I had to always "do more". After all, I was afraid of becoming too "slothful". Back then, I did not trust God for His sovereign care, so I felt like I had to manipulate people and circumstances to be in my favor. However, as a more mature Christian who now understands and trusts in God's sovereignty, I realize that I can be more like Mary by resting and learning from Him. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my blog, and I'd like to know what you all think. So, please feel free to leave me a comment below and share this blog with someone who you think needs this message. May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

Why Reading Books Are Good For Your Mental Health

 

Many of you already know that I am an avid reader of many books. Honestly, I have had a love for the written word ever since elementary school. I remember reading the Animorphs series in third grade. Also, my mother used to have me write letters to my sisters every week. This instilled in me a love for writing. It distresses me immensely that reading and writing seem to have fallen into disrepute. I believe that most of the issues that have led to the ignorance in society stem from the fact that people have given up on reading. There are far too many people who are glued to their screens, either playing video games or watching movies. To be clear, I am not saying that there is inherently anything wrong with playing video games or watching movies. I really do enjoy doing both of these activities. I believe that both of these activities can be beneficial. However, I do find it distressing how so many people in today's time seem to become addicted to being in front of screens. I would love to see people grow a love for reading books again. That is why I decided to write this blog. The purpose of this blog is to discuss the benefits of reading good books. As the great Reformed Baptist Charles Spurgeon once said, 

"Read many books but live in the Bible" 

As you can see, the Prince of Preachers acknowledged that we should be avid readers. I think he even realized that there are benefits to reading. I do acknowledge that he said that we should "live in the Bible," and I agree that the Bible should be the most important book we should read. However, that does not mean we are to throw out any book that is not the Bible. As a matter of fact, I would say that if we do that, we are, in essence, going against biblical teaching. Now, you are probably wondering how I can say that, right? Well, when we turn to Ephesians 4:11-13, we read the following, 

"The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the Body of Christ, until all of us come to unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" 

As you can see from this text, Paul is telling us that the Lord has given us "pastors and teachers" as gifts to the Church in order to "build up the Body of Christ". I believe that this text could apply to books that various teachers have written. Does this mean that we can trust any and all books? Heavens no! We all need to be good Bereans and make sure all teachings line up with the Word of God. As long as we have good discernment, then we do not need to read many great books. Anyway, I will now go into the benefits of reading on mental health. I will separate these benefits into four categories: Critical Thinking Skills, Decreases Memory Loss, Distraction, and Stress Reduction. I know that there are many other benefits, but these are the main benefits that I'd like to cover for the sake of this blog. If you can think of any other benefits, please let me know in the comments below. 

Critical Thinking Skills 

I believe that when you are an avid reader, it really does sharpen your thinking skills. This is why there has been such a huge push to have people read less and to be glued to screens instead. As long as we do not read for ourselves, we will always be at the mercy of those who want to control us. When we take the time to really develop our reading skills, then our cognitive abilities will be strengthened, and we are less likely to be taken advantage of. One of my favorite movies is a movie called Idiocracy. The reason why I like that movie so much is that it shows where our country is heading if we continue letting books go. So many people, Christians included, are too eager to allow others to do their thinking for them. I find this to be tragic. As an old pastor of mine used to say, 

"You do not know what you truly believe until you have studied the very best arguments against what you currently believe." 

What he means by this is that for you to develop your critical thinking skills, you must be willing to do proper studying. If you are not content with just believing what you are told (even if it comes from an authority figure), then you should be willing to study all the different angles surrounding a certain topic. I believe that that is the only way to have a well-rounded belief system. 

Decreases Memory Loss 

This goes right along with the Critical Thinking Skills, but it is slightly different. Studies have shown that when people engage in reading activities, their memory loss declines by 32% and when people do not engage in reading activities, their memory loss declines by 48%. This is clear evidence that reading books strengthens your memory. I am not saying that if you read, then you will develop a photographic memory right away. However, by engaging in the act of reading, your memory muscle will become stronger. I use the metaphor of working out. When you work out, you cannot just start with a 500 lb weight set right away. No, you have to start by lifting 10 lbs and then 15 lbs and so on. Developing your memory muscle works the same way. You may not be able to read a full-fledged novel right away, but instead you may want to start by reading one paragraph, and then once you have that down, you move to the next paragraph. Sure, that method will probably get you through a book slower than average, but your mind will be satisfied. 

Distraction 

Now, this is one of my favorite things about reading. As most of you may know about me is I love reading books on theology, philosophy, and psychology. However, what most of you may not know about me is that I love reading a good fiction book as well. The reason why I love reading fiction books is that it is a great way for me to temporarily escape from the real world by going into a fantasy world. Currently, I am reading a book called Batman: Resurrection. I love how when I am stressed about something, I can pick up my Batman novel and just read that as a distraction from whatever is ailing my mind. I will forewarn you that this can be detrimental if you engage in it too much. Distraction skills must be utilized sparingly. It is good for us to distract ourselves from reality temporarily, but eventually we must come back to reality. 

Stress Reduction 

This skill goes right along with Distraction because when we read to distract our minds, it really does cause us to become less stressed. As a matter of fact, Dr. David Lewis tells us that when we read as little as six minutes a day, it can reduce stress by 60% by reducing heart rate, easing muscle tension, and altering our state of mind. This means that when you read when you are stressed out about something, the very act of reading will cause you to relax. I find it remarkable that Dr. David Lewis says that all we need to do is read for a mere six minutes! Since this is the case, imagine how relaxed people in our country would be if only we brought back reading for people. 

I hope that this blog helps you better understand why reading books can and will benefit your mental health. I know that reading for some of you is difficult, but I'd like to challenge you to just pick up a book, any book, and read for six minutes a day and let's see how you feel after about a month or two. I would be willing to bet that your cognitive functioning will increase and you will find yourself to be much more relaxed, too. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and I hope this encourages you to read more. May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 
Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check out the Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website