PRIDE 7

One direction Martha could have taken with Jesus’ words would have been to tell herself that she really was less that Mary. It would not matter how hard she tried, she would never please Jesus. Pride is a cruel master. It takes away all sense of worth and dignity.
Jesus, however, was trying to tell Martha that she really was valuable. She was just going about finding it in the wrong way. Jesus wanted her to examine what it was that he found valuable in Mary. He wanted her to think about that “one thing”. Would it be something that she could emulate? Her attitude toward service would change. Being the servant she was, she could even go so far as to use her obvious gifts and talents to serve Mary, which would help Mary grow in that “one thing.”

Pride puts us on the horns of a dilemma. Martha hated it when Jesus didn’t notice all the trouble she was going to. But if Martha were like her modern daughters, the fuss made over her for all she was doing would have embarrassed her. Pride and false humility are the mirror image of each other. Both are sin.

Learning to graciously receive compliments at face value and not manipulating or pressing others into giving complements are important virtues. The change begins in accepting the fact that God loves you now without one change in your life and knowing that his unconditional love in Jesus Christ will change you forever. Living the tension between those truths opens the door to some real healing.

When pride is in full bloom, no one understands, no one can relate, and no one can fully appreciate my problems. It doesn’t even want anyone to understand. There is a cold comfort in that being alone. Jesus will not leave us there. Of him it is said, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4) and “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). It is amazing how when I think I have gone through it all, I find that Jesus went through it before me and usually under worse circumstances.

Jesus knows our weaknesses and problems even better than we do. We can trust him to relate to us. One of the ways he does that is through believers he places around us. It is amazing how often he ministers through his people. If Jesus can identify with Martha, believe me he can identify with you and me. After all he is the “one thing needed.”