DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS

Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26; Luke 10:38-11:13; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 12:15-17

“But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.’ But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.’”

“Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.”

Somebody has to pay attention to the details! Every time I read about Mary and Martha, I still think Martha is unfairly criticized. Where would the world be without those who plan and make things happen, without those who prepare? After all, it mattered that Jesus and the disciples were fed a meal. Almost certainly, they were hungry. Regardless, only the worst of Hebrew hosts would not feed their guests, and it would have been the height of discourtesy not to at least have food available. Pretty clearly, the invitation contemplated the meal. Maybe Jesus didn’t need feeding or care about courtesy. But Martha needed to serve; it was her way of honoring Him. Why would Jesus dishonor her efforts?

The ice here is not as thin as it seems at first glance. Jesus did not dishonor Martha. Popular culture has done that all by itself. People who plan and work for a goal make those who don’t uncomfortable. When we get uncomfortable, we tend to get critical. But the fact is, Jesus never told Martha she was wrong; He merely pointed out the source of her anxiety and the distraction it caused, and that there was a way to be righter. That’s not just a semantic difference. Martha’s good was the enemy of her best. First, because she gave little thought to what Jesus actually wanted; she decided how to serve, rather than allow the Spirit to guide her worship and work. Second, though, she tried to impose her ideas of “proper” service on her sister and ended up judging Mary.

It’s never a good idea to dictate how others should serve or worship. It’s just not our business. We all come to Christ in our own way. There is no one size fits all approach to salvation or growing in grace. As long as folks are trying and are focused on Christ, we do well to stay out of the way. What we may think is “gentle correction” may be seen by others as a major distraction. More than one person has been totally alienated by others’ well-intentioned (or not!) efforts to “guide” their worship or service. Whether it’s being told to lay prostrate, raise arms in worship or submit to a laying on of hands that is not comfortable, such directions do no more than create false tests of faith and set one person above another.

That was where Martha really went wrong. Her judgment regarding “proper” behavior put her in the position of judge over her sister and risked alienation and disagreement Jesus knew was neither necessary nor helpful. There is a time to pay attention to the details. Spontaneity is wonderful, but often, even that begins in some kind of structure. However, when structure or details become an obsession that causes us to think more of appearances than of the opportunity we have to experience the Spirit, we have crossed a line better left uncrossed. Details are never more than the means to an end. They are tools. When they are misused to set us over others, it’s time to relax our grip on them a bit. Otherwise, the saying that “the devil’s in the details” might just be more true than we think.