How to Encourage your Ministry Team in the Bleak Midwinter
This is a guest post by Dr. Paul White, business consultant, psychologist, and coauthor of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace
Now that we are fully into the New Year and venturing into the dreary days of January and February filled with cold weather and few days off from work, ministry leaders need to take a hard look at how we are going to support and encourage our team members. This is the time of year (especially for those who like sunlight) for people to just drag themselves through the day.
As a psychologist who trains leaders and colleagues how to effectively communicate appreciation in the workplace, let me offer some suggestions.
Understand the nature of discouragement and burnout
Discouragement and burnout, over the long haul, come from a combination of weariness and lack of hope. We have just emerged from the holiday season with many extra activities, and now we face the daily grind of doing our normal work. A lot of people are emotionally tired. Add to this a potential lack of vision (“Remind me again, why are we doing this?”) and a lack of hope (“My contribution really isn’t going to make a difference…”) and you have the perfect recipe for team members either going through the motions or giving up completely.
Give your team what they need: vision, hope, appreciation and encouragement
This is where leaders can make a tremendous difference with their team members – by providing vision (where you are going and how doing x, y, and z fits into the overall plan), communicating hope (helping them see how what they are doing does matter), and communicating appreciation and encouragement along the way.
Communicate your appreciation in ways that work
One challenge in effectively encouraging your team members is that not everyone’s “language of appreciation” is the same. Therefore, some attempts at appreciation may not really impact them. Most people think of appreciation as being verbal—saying “thanks” or writing a note —but in reality, studies show at least 40% of people really don’t value words in terms of feeling affirmed and appreciated. For another 25%, a gift card to the local Christian bookstore will not convey the intended appreciation. Some people feel appreciated when you spend personal time with them; others just want help getting tasks done.
In our research for appreciation in work and ministry contexts, Dr. Gary Chapman and I have found that for people to truly feel valued, four conditions need to be present. Appreciation needs to be communicated:
a) individually (rather than a blanket thank-you to all involved),
b) in the language that the individual values (see our online inventory to identify each person’s preferred appreciation language),
c) regularly (not just at their annual review or at the end of a big project); and
d) in a manner that the individual perceives as being genuine (versus forced or contrived).
To be honest, it takes some time and effort to communicate appreciation effectively. But it is worth it when you “hit the mark” with a team member, and you watch as they start to glow (or become teary-eyed) and their commitment to you and the ministry deepens dramatically. And you will be able to help them endure the long, dark days of winter – they may even smile occasionally and report enjoying their work!
* * * * *
Author Bio: Dr. Paul White is a business consultant and psychologist, and is the coauthor of The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace with Dr. Gary Chapman. For more information, go to www.appreciationatwork.com .
About the Book: The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace applies the “love language” concept of New York Times bestseller, The 5 Love Languages, to the workplace. This book helps supervisors and managers effectively communicate appreciation and encouragement to their employees, resulting in higher levels of job satisfaction, healthier relationships between managers and employees, and decreased cases of burnout. Ideal for both the profit and non-profit sectors, the principles presented in this book have a proven history of success in businesses, schools, medical offices, churches, and industry. Each book contains an access code for the reader to take a comprehensive online MBA Inventory (Motivating By Appreciation) – a $20 value.
Apple’s Potential TV Plans
In the recent meetings with media companies, the Apple executives, including Senior Vice President Eddy Cue, have outlined new ways Apple’s technology could recognize users across phones, tablets and TVs, people familiar with the talks said.
In at least one meeting, Apple described future television technology that would respond to users’ voices and movements, one of the people said. Such technology, which Apple indicated may take longer than some of its other ideas, might allow users to use their voices to search for a show or change channels.
. . . .Apple has worked on technologies for integrating DVR storage and iCloud, its online syncing and storage service, into the device, according to a person briefed on the matter. Such technologies could allow users to watch shows they have saved or purchased on two different devices, like a TV and a computer, without having to buy or record the shows twice.
Five More Books I’m Looking Forward To: Leadership, Vocation, Global Poverty, Theological Education, Willpower
Going through my inbox, here are 5 more books I’ve just bought or been sent that I’m looking forward to:
1.Fast Living: How the Church Will End Extreme Poverty
I believe along with Scott Todd that we can end extreme poverty in our generation. Further, I think there is firm biblical basis in Deuteronomy 15 and 2 Corinthians 8-9 that we especially ought to seek to do so in the church, and can do so. Sometime I hope to write on that.
Until then, I love the way Edwards put it: “There ought to be none suffered to live in pinching want, among the visible people of God, except in cases of prodigality or laziness or some other case which the word of God excepts.” Amen.
We need to take that seriously.
2. Theological Education Underground (1937 – 1940): The Works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Volume 15
This is a collection of Bonhoeffer’s letters and papers as he was struggling with how to uphold a forthright Christian witness against Nazi totalitarianism and maintain his theological education activities illegally underground after being banned from preaching and teaching by the Gestapo in 1937.
This book is not only of interest in itself, but ties to Scott Todd’s book that I mentioned above: it is not enough to seek to end extreme poverty. There is also a massive need for theological education in the developing world. Theological education is essential in itself, and is also a critical and unexpected means to overcoming poverty. I talk about this a bit in my book, though I think I will have to cut it out due to space (and publish it in a different book). Suffice it to say, I’m very interested in learning about how to serve the cause of theological education in the developing world, and am interested in learning about how to innovate the model to work more effectively in the hardest to reach places. I hope that Bonhoeffer’s book helps.
3. Teach the Bible to Change Lives
4. The Shaping of an Effective Leader: Eight Formative Principles of Leadership
I’ll be reviewing this one for The Gospel Coalition. It has received good reviews so far, and I like that the first chapter is about the importance of character to leadership. I make the same point about productivity in my book except, of course, in relation to personal effectiveness and productivity. For too long the personality ethic of (mere) image and technique has dominated; we need to restore the character ethic.
5. Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good
I saw Amy present on her book at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society this year and enjoyed it. I’m especially interested in this book because of its tie to the doctrine of vocation.
6. Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
Though the message of this book is hopeful, I find it depressing (at least initially) because he points out that willpower is an exhaustible resource. In what became one of the most cited papers in social science literature, one of the authors argued that willpower has a physical dimension and operates like a muscle which can be strengthened with practice but fatigued by overuse. That paper became the foundation of this book. The later part of that summary is the bad news — your willpower can be depleted. But the good news is that we can build our willpower and creatively overcome some of the seemingly built-in limitations. The authors talk about scientifically demonstrated ways to do this.
I think willpower is an important subject. The verdict is out in my mind, however, as to whether will power is the same thing as self-control, which is a fruit of the Spirit. I don’t deny that there are physical components to the fruit of the Spirit — for example, if you get more sleep, you are likely to be more joyful, patient, and of course self-controlled. But at the essence of any fruit of the Spirit is that you are able to maintain it even under the worst conditions — no sleep, annoying opposition, terrible circumstances. So while willpower is certainly a virtue and highly useful, I am not sure that it is the same as what the Bible at least is referring to in Galatians 5 when is speaks of “self-control” (though there would doubtless be overlap).
I ended up adding another book in the middle of the post, so looks like it actually adds up to six. I hope to get to these soon, though it will probably take me longer to get to some rather than others.
I mentioned the ties between the first three books. You’ll notice there is also a tie with the next three as well, for if we are going to do good for the world on a global scale and address pressing global problems like extreme poverty and the lack of theological education, we need to become effective leaders (book 4), have a robust doctrine of vocation (which book 5 relates to), and know how to management ourselves effectively (which book 6 relates to, though it certainly wouldn’t be the first book to read on issues of personal effectiveness).
The Best Mission Statement for a Christian Organization Is Two Words:
Jesus Christ.
If you want to know how to live as a Christian, what to believe, what to do, what kind of attitude to have, what God is like, or anything else about ultimate things, all you have to do is look at Jesus. He is the foundation, goal, sum, essence, and everything of life and any organization that calls itself Christian.
I know we need to be more specific in our mission statements about what our specific goal is, within this framework.
But my point is that every Christian organization is imitating Jesus in some specific way, seeking to act in his power, and proclaiming his message. So Jesus does sum up what any Christian organization is seeking to do. Anybody should be able to look at what your organization does, then look at the portrait of Jesus in the gospels and epistles, and say “yes, that follows.”
And thus, if you are going to make a mistake in your mission, it’s better to make the mistake of being too broad and high-level, but getting the core (Jesus) right, than being highly specific but leaving the core implicit or assumed.
This is for Christian organizations. Secular organizations, or even businesses run by Christians, do not need to have Jesus in their mission statements explicitly. The “main actor” can be off stage at times, without undermining the fact that everything is about him.
I’m talking specifically about Christian ministries and churches — organizations that exist specifically to proclaim Jesus and make him known. For Christian organizations, Jesus Christ is the sum and substance of the entire mission, and it is right and wise to make that explicit.
Space: The Next Business Frontier
A good article in the Wall Street Journal on what’s ahead for Virgin Galactic:
By next Christmas the airline mogul could be ferrying paying customers outside the atmosphere — and, later, to the bottom of the ocean.
3 Articles on Christopher Hitchens
- Justin Taylor
- Ed Stetzer
- Doug Wilson in Christianity Today
And the New York Times obituary.
When to Fire a Customer
Godin gets this right:
There are a few reasons to tolerate the customer who makes unreasonable demands:
- You promised you would
- She helps you raise your game
- Her word of mouth is very powerful
- The cost of frequently figuring out which customers to fire is too high compared to the cost of putting up with everyone
It’s probably worth firing a customer if:
- He willfully corrupts your systems at a cost to other customers
- Your employees are prevented from doing their best work in the long run
- His word of mouth can’t be changed or doesn’t matter
- He distracts you from delighting customers that are reasonable
In general, organizations are afraid to fire customers, no matter how unreasonable. This is a mistake. It’s good for you.
Tweaking the Idea of “Minimal Viable Product”
A good point from Godin the other day:
One of my favorite ideas in the new wave of programming is the notion of minimal viable product. The thought is that you should spec and build the smallest kernel of your core idea, put it in the world and see how people react to it, then improve from there.
For drill bits and other tools, this makes perfect sense. Put it out there, get it used, improve it. The definition of “minimal” is obvious.
Often, for software we use in public, this definition leads to failure. Why? Two reasons:
1. Marketing plays by different rules than engineering. Many products depend on community, on adoption within a tribe, on buzz–these products aren’t viable when they first launch, precisely because they haven’t been adopted. “Being used by my peers,” is a key element of what makes something like a fax machine a viable product, and of course, your new tool isn’t.
The Myth of the Garage: Chip and Dan Heath’s Latest Book
Chip and Dan Heath’s latest book, The Myth of the Garage
In Myth, the Heath brothers tackle some of the most (and least) important issues in the modern business world:
• Why you should never buy another mutual fund (“The Horror of Mutual Funds”)
• Why your gut may be more ethical than your brain (“In Defense of Feelings”)
• How to communicate with numbers in a way that changes decisions (“The Gripping Statistic”)
• Why the “Next Big Thing” often isn’t (“The Future Fails Again”)
• Why you may someday pay $300 for a pair of socks (“The Inevitability of $300 Socks”)
• And 12 others . . . Punchy, entertaining, and full of unexpected insights, the collection is the perfect companion for a short flight (or a long meeting).
How Jonathan Edwards Processed Theology
A great, brief post by Tony Reinke.
It’s Not Enough to Do Good
You have to be mindful of God in the good that you do.
“Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good” (1 Peter 4:19).
“For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly” (1 Peter 2:19).
“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
“Whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23).
The Character of a True Theologian
I dusted off again recently Herman Witsius’s excellent essay “On the Character of a True Theologian.” As you can tell from the title, his emphasis is that a theologian is first a person of character, who loves God and believes what he teaches. Here’s one of the best paragraphs:
By a theologian, I mean one who, imbued with a substantial knowledge of divine things derived form the teaching of God himself, declares and extols, not in words only, but by the whole course of his life, the wonderful excelencies of God and thus lives entirely for his glory.
Such were in former days the holy patriarchs, such the divinely inspired prophets, such the apostolic teachers of the whole world, such some of those whom we denominate fathers, the widely resplendent luminaries of the primitive church. The knowledge of these men did not lie in the wiredrawn subtleties of curious questions, but in the devout contemplation of God and his Christ.
Their plain and chaste mode of teaching did not soothe itching ears but, impressing upon the mind an exact representation of sacred things, inflamed the soul with their love, while their praiseworthy innocence of behavior, in harmony with their profession and unimpeached by their enemies, supported their teaching by an evidence that was irresistible, and formed a clear proof of their having familiar intercourse with the most holy God.
So that is the character of a true theologian: he seeks knowledge not for its own sake, but in communion with God, and lives what he teaches.
But what is the doctrine of a true theologian? Luther answers this, and Witsius would agree:
Anyone who can judge rightly between the law and the Gospel should thank God and know that he is a true theologian.
In other words, a true theologian knows that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone (the gospel) and not works (the law). This is what Luther rightly calls “the sum” and “chief article of all Christian doctrine.” “This is the beginning of health and salvation. By this means we are delivered from sin, justified, and made inheritors of everlasting life, not because of what we have done to deserve it, but through our faith, by which we lay hold of Christ. . . . Faith takes hold of Christ as a ring does a precious stone. Whoever has this confidence in Christ will be accounted righteous by God.”
At the foundation of the character of a true theologian is a doctrine, a truth, namely the gospel. This is what then enables a theologian to truly seek God, develop the character God requires, and live out the truth of the Scriptures.
What View of Motivation Do You Have?
This is an interesting, quick survey on motivation at Dan Pink’s website.
Dan Pink is the author of the excellent book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
Type I behavior: A way of thinking and an approach to life built around intrinsic, rather than extrinsic, motivators. It is powered by our innate need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.
Type X behavior: Behavior that is fueled more by extrinsic desires than intrinsic ones and that concerns itself less with the inherent satisfaction of an activity and more with the external rewards to which that activity leads.
One interesting observation: When most people think of productivity, they almost immediately tend to think in terms of Type X. Ironically, Type X is horribly detrimental to productivity in most cases. We are most productive (and, more important, enjoy what we are doing most) when we operate according to Type I.
The Character of a Christian Develops in Proportion to His or Her Faith
Sinclair Ferguson’s observations here from John Owen on the Christian Life are full of incredible insight. The quotes are from Owen:
Every Christian lives by faith. The Christian character is not recognized by the degree of faith, but by its presence.
The growth of character will, however, inevitably be related to and dependent on the growth of faith. Weak faith will carry a man to heaven, “yet it will never carry him comfortably nor pleasantly thither . . . the least true faith will do its work safely, though not so sweetly.” Since “a little faith gives a whole Christ,” “others may be more holy than he, but not one in the world is more righteous than he.”
“The most imperfect faith will give present justification, because it interests the soul in a present Christ. The lowest degree of true faith gives the highest completeness of righteousness (Col 2:10). You, who have but a weak faith, have yet a strong Christ.”
But according to the example of Abraham, strong, or developed faith, brings glory to God. The character of a Christian therefore develops in proportion to his faith.
Excellent points. The weakest faith in Christ is sufficient to save, but the stronger your faith, the more pleasant your journey through life will be (pleasant = not free of suffering, but content in Christ) and the greater your character will develop.
Character develops in proportion to our faith. To grow in character, grow in faith. And to grow in faith, trust God to act on your behalf more and more in your daily life.
The New Rules of the Internet
The “new rules” have been around for a while now, but this is still a great summary by Jeff Jarvis in What Would Google Do?
- Customers are now in charge.
- People can find each other anywhere and coalesce around you or against you.
- The mass market is [sort of] dead, replaced by the mass of niches.
- Since markets are conversations, the key skill in any organization is no longer marketing but conversing.
- We have shifted from an economy based on scarcity to one based on abundance.
- Enabling customers to collaborate with you (creating, distributing, marketing, supporting products) is what creates a premium in today’s market.
- The most successful enterprises today are networks and the platforms on which those networks are built.
- The key to success is not owning pipelines, people, products, or even intellectual property, but openness.
Halloween On Mission
Is it Wrong to Ask God to Bless Your Plans?
Sometimes it is said that we shouldn’t make our own plans and then ask for God to bless them; we should ask God what his plans are, and align ours with his.
Now, this is good advice if this is meant at the high level — that is, if the definition of “God’s plans” here is “God’s moral will revealed in Scripture.” God’s plan for us, in this sense, is that we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with him (Micah 6:8; Matthew 23:23). That’s our mission in life.
God also gets more specific: in marriage, we are to marry only another believer. In our jobs, we are to have full integrity and work with enthusiasm and skill as unto the Lord. In our giving, we are to be generous.
In this sense, we are to seek God’s plans, not our own. That is, God has defined our ultimate priorities in life. We are to seek what he has revealed for us, rather than just coming up with whatever we want to do.
Now, within this framework, there are many areas that God’s word does not address specifically. Should you seek to have another child or not? Should your company add those 3 new positions? Should you buy this house or that one? What major should you chose, and what are your overall objectives for your career?
In this realm, as long as our ultimate aims are governed by and stem from God’s moral will, we are to make plans. And, the teaching of the Scripture is that we don’t look for some specific sub-plans that God has for us. Rather, he wants us, indeed, to make our own plans (with Scriptural wisdom and prayer) and seek to accomplish them.
More than that, the teaching of the Scriptures is that, in the main, we should look for God to bless our plans. Our plans will change and adapt, because God is ultimately sovereign. But it is striking that, when addressing the subject of godly planning, the Bible emphasizes not only that the success of our plans is subject to God (Proverbs 16:9), but that, when we plan in dependence on him, God seeks to bless what we do. He doesn’t say “you should have done this or that — that’s what my plan was.” Instead, he says: “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (Proverbs 16:3).
Commit your work to the Lord — don’t be godless in your work and planning — and your plans will be established.
Likewise, Psalm 37:4 tells us: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Whose desires will he give you? Yours.
Too often as Christians we almost paralyze ourselves by thinking that our desires and plans don’t mean anything — that God plans on defeating our godly plans time and again because he has some other plan for us different than what we sought to do.
The emphasis of the Bible, though, is that God wants you making plans, he wants you doing this in reliance on him, and he wants these plans to reflect his ultimately priorities (glorify him, love others, seek justice). If you are doing that, the Scriptures indicate that you should look for God to work with you in your plans. He surely will adjust and improve them, but your plans will be established – that is, when he changes them, he will change them for the better.
1 & 2 Thessalonians: The Hope of Salvation
This is getting to be a week for recommending books. My friend, James Grant, recently released his first book, a commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians in the “Preaching the Word” series (edited by Kent Hughes): 1 & 2 Thessalonians: The Hope of Salvation.
James is a pastor, and that’s what makes this commentary so helpful: his pastoral insight shines through just as brightly as his textual insight. I’ve referred to his commentary a few times already while reflecting on Paul’s view of work while finishing up my own book this fall, and it has been very helpful.
Here is Bryan Chapel’s endorsement for the series:
“The Preaching the Word commentary series is one of my favorites. The focus upon explaining a text while preaching it as the goal makes the series resonate with the priorities of the pulpit. No academic aloofness here, but down-to-earth, preacher-to-preacher meat for God’s people.”
For pastors and anyone looking to build up their library of NT commentaries, James’ book is worth picking up.
5 Characteristics of Effective Leaders
In You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference
- Believe they can positively shape their lives and careers.
- Lead through their relationships with people, as opposed to their control over people.
- Collaborate rather than control.
- Persuade others to contribute, rather than order them to.
- Get others to follow them out of respect and commitment rather than fear and compliance.
Rewards with a Mission
I love Crossway’s rewards program, Crossway Impact: Rewards with a Mission. Here’s the brief description:
Crossway is excited to introduce a new kind of rewards program — one that makes sense for your budget, has great perks, and (curve ball) isn’t all about you. Crossway Impact is a program that rewards you and allows you to make an impact with every purchase.
The curve ball is my favorite part: there are lots of individual benefits to being a part of it, but the best part is that you can be of benefit to others as well because 5% of everything you spend goes to support a great cause. (You can choose among several ministries, including Desiring God, Ligonier, and The Gospel Coalition.
You even get to name your own membership fee.
It’s worth checking out, if you haven’t already.
The Depth of Sin
Lloyd-Jones:
We shall never have an adequate conception of the greatness of this salvation unless we realize something at any rate of what we were before this mighty power took hold of us, unless we realize what we would still be if God had not intervened in our lives and had rescued us.
In other words, we must realize the depth of sin, what sin really means, and what it has done to the human race.
Great Ideas Don’t Happen Simply Because they are Great
Scott Belsky, in Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality
Ideas don’t happen because they are great — or by accident. The misconception that great ideas inevitably lead to success has prevailed for too long. Whether you have the perfect solution for an everyday problem or a bold new concept for a creative masterpiece, you must transform vision into reality.
Racism and the Utter Necessity of Understanding the Spirit of the Law
I watched the beginning of John Piper’s Bloodlines documentary the other day, and something Piper said really stands out to me.
Segregation was referred to as “separate but equal” — but, as Piper points out, it was really just separate. There was nothing equal about it. It was discrimination, pure and simple. Claiming that you are discriminating and yet treating people as “equal” is simply to be double-tongued.
The Bible gives us many specific examples to illustrate the obedience that God requires of us. One of them directly relating to segregation is James 2:1-4:
My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Now, here’s what’s interesting. Someone could easily have said: “James isn’t talking about segregation as it existed in 20th-century America. He’s talking about treating the rich better than the poor in church — which has nothing to do with segregation based on color. So, when people enforced and allowed segregation, they weren’t violating this passage.”
And to do so would miss the whole point. The whole point!
It’s true that James’ example here does not mention segregation based on color. But to think it has to is to completely misunderstand how to interpret the Bible, and to miss the spirit of the law.
For James started, in 2:1, by stating the main principle: It is wrong to show partiality. Treating the rich and poor differently in church is the specific example he gives to illustrate this. But it is not the only way to show partiality. “Separate but equal” was another way to do it. “Separate but equal” was doing the very thing James discusses in his example here, just in different clothes. “You go use this drinking fountain, while I use this one” is no different from saying “you sit in this seat here because you have money, and this other guy without money will have to sit way in the back.”
Here’s why this matters: When the Bible gives specific examples of sins, like giving good seats in church to people of wealth and bad seats to those without wealth, few people will commit the sin in that exact way as the example (though some, of course, still will!). The problem is that we often end up violating the true intent of the passage by doing things in a slightly different way than the specific example the Scripture gave — not realizing that, in doing so, we are violating the main point and spirit of the passage
Here’s the application: We shouldn’t ask, “Did I follow the letter of the law?” We are to ask: “Am I following the true intent of the law?”
Hence, “show no partiality” means not simply to avoid giving better seats to church members with more money, but not to discriminate at all. “You shall not murder” does not simply mean not to kill your neighbor, but rather that we are to positively seek his good and flourishing. “You shall not commit adultery” does not simply mean “don’t cheat on your wife,” but “love your wife and seek the prospering of your marriage.” And “you shall not bear false witness” does not simply mean “don’t lie,” but “uphold your word in all contexts (cf. James 5:12) and be consistent in your speech (cf. 1 Timothy 3:8) and make sure your actions match your word (cf. James 2:15-16).”
And, of course, in seeing this, we see what failures we all are! Which of us pursues the good of our neighbor 100% of the time? Which of us has a marriage that is everything it should be?
The glorious news of the gospel is that, in Christ, God does not condemn his people for these things. We are not under the condemnation of the law, but are forgiven and fully righteous in God’s sight.
But the law still shows us how we are to live. And this means we should not conclude it doesn’t matter how we live or take it lightly when we realize we are violating the spirit of the law (especially on a matter as significant as segregation — which, fortunately, is now outlawed). Knowing that we always fail in some sense in fulfilling God’s will, we are to press on in obedience eagerly and enthusiastically (Titus 2:14), knowing that as we do so God is empowering us and causing us to grow in holiness (Philippians 2:12-14). And, it also means that we should, perhaps, examine ourselves once in a while to see if there are any areas where we might be in accord with the letter of the law, but in violation of its spirit.
The Point of the Story of Mary and Martha
Have you ever noticed that the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) comes right after the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)?
There is a purpose in that — the authors of the gospels arranged their material very carefully, with thought and intention.
The connection between the two is not hard to see. The story of Mary and Martha is intended, in part, to correct a possible misunderstanding of the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The parable of the Good Samaritan tells us how we are to be as Christians — we are to show mercy to others whenever the opportunity is before us, and indeed we are to seek out opportunities to do good and serve. We are to “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37), just as the Samaritan did. This is what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 27).
But we could mis-apply that by allowing true service to transform into mere busyness. This is what we see with Mary and Martha. Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching” (v. 39). Martha, on the other hand, “was distracted with much serving” (v. 40). When Martha asked Jesus to rebuke Mary and help her serve, Jesus said “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (vv. 41-42).
The lesson: Do indeed be radical in doing good, just like the Good Samaritan (v. 37). But don’t take this to mean that you should be scrambling around frantically, over-committing yourself and becoming over busy. We ought to sacrifice and endure hardship. But don’t let your service to others distract you from the ultimate reason for your service, which is Jesus himself.
Serve, but don’t be frantic. Sacrifice and go out of your way, but don’t neglect devoted time to worship and prayer and reading the Bible. The point of seeing these things together here in Luke 10 is that there is enough time for both. Don’t let your service turn into frenetic anxiety.
And here’s one other thought: We also see here that God values — indeed, requires — both action and thought. Radical action for good is illustrated in the Good Samaritan. And deep consideration of the teaching of Jesus is modeled in the story of Mary and Martha. Don’t play doing and thinking off against one another. Do both. There is time for both and, ironically, each serves the other.
4 Types of Mercy
All seen in the parable of the Good Samaritan:
- Advocacy
- Assistance
- Finances
- Spiritual
Here’s the interesting thing: When we think of showing mercy and serving others, we don’t often think of advocacy. But it is often a critical, and simple, form of mercy. Just advocating for the person — taking up their cause, defending them, supporting them, advocating for them.
(Note: Advocacy is different than encouragement. Encouragement is something you do to the person — building them up and strengthening them with your words. Advocacy is something you do for them in relation to others. When the real need is advocacy, encouragement alone can come across as hollow. On the other hand, real and sincere advocacy is a very encouraging thing.)
About Matt Perman
Follower of Christ. Husband of one, father of three. Director of strategy at Desiring God. This blog exists to help equip Christians in good works, because that's what productivity is really about.
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