PRIDE 2

Pride is insisting on waiting on Jesus instead of waiting for Jesus, which is the essence of patience. This was Martha’s sin. It was not time for Jesus to be waited on. He came to Martha’s home to give something to both her and Mary. He had come to teach them. Since they were women and Teachers (Rabbis) did not teach women, it was a very special gift he wanted to give. He wanted her to wait for that gift just as Mary was doing. Her pride got in her way.

I have found it true of Martha and many of her descendents that they are much better at giving than they are receiving. Pride has subtle ways of changing giving into controlling. Pride converts giving into a transaction. “I will care for you and in return you will at the very least be properly grateful.” Creating this sense of debt on the part of the recipient becomes a means of control. Guilt is used to manipulate the proper response to this wonderful gift of caring. Reality is that people don’t always act the way they are supposed to, especially in the area of gratitude. Worse still, most people don’t like to be manipulated or controlled by guilt.

For Martha I’m sure this was not a conscious effort to control Jesus, but the results were the same. She, like many others whose generosity is infected with pride, was in danger of having her sense of worth bruised. If asked, Martha would have denied trying to control Jesus, but that is exactly what she was doing. It hurt her when he refused to go along with her plan and then was ungrateful to boot. To understand how this sin of pride comes into the lives of giving people with wonderful servant hearts, let’s take a closer look at Martha’s encounter with Jesus.

Although Jesus was a friend of the family, his status as a teacher in Israel made his visit highly unusual to say the least. He had come to teach and rabbis did not teach women. What an honor it was for Martha to have such a guest in her home. The natural thing for Martha was to have her home in good order to receive her guest and have a good meal prepared.

The point is that what Martha did was a good thing, which obviously came from a heart full of generous hospitality. Pride starts with a good thing of which we have a right to be proud. However, it takes the good thing and bends it for selfish purposes. It was good for Martha to open her home. It was good that she was preparing a special meal. What Martha did not realize was that Jesus came to give first and then receive. His giving was most important to him. All her preparations got in the way of her understanding this. Her preparations became more important than the person she was serving.