Truth Magazine

By Betty Warnock

“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). No doubt these words of commendation to Mary were thrilling to her heart, but they probably brought a sting of remorse to Martha’s ears.

This declaration by Jesus came at the close of a conversation that occurred as he visited his dear friends, Mary and Martha who shared their home with their brother, Lazarus, at Bethany. We know that Jesus was a frequent visitor and counted these three among his closest friends.

In this article we will notice how Jesus taught a lesson on choosing priorities as he visited with these two sisters.

Contrast of Sisters

As the events of the visit unfold, we see the sisters contrasted in these ways. First of all, we see Mary at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39). This posture which she assumes shows a respect for her Lord and her teacher. We see in her an intense desire and hunger for spiritual words and she certainly knew that this teacher presented before her a feast, a blessed opportunity that she could not ignore. At this time, she seemed oblivious to other activities around her and concentrated on the words that Jesus was speaking.

However, we see Martha, who certainly loved the Lord also, “cumbered” or burdened with the preparations that she felt a good hostess should make. There were two banquets being offered in Bethany that day. Mary was enjoying the Bread of Life (John 6:51) which would never be taken from her and Martha was preparing a physical banquet, thereby missing the spiritual feast.

Martha speaks almost as a rebuke and entreats the Lord to have Mary come and help her. But Jesus chides, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). He does not rebuke her for being a good hostess and for being hospitable, but for the fact that she had allowed these cares to overshadow the opportunities to enrich her own spiritual life. In other words she had gotten her priorities confused.

Where Are Our Priorities?

It is so easy in today’s society to let our priorities get out of order and to let the “good part” to which Jesus referred, become obscured. It is difficult not to allow the cares of the world become the weeds that choke out the beautiful flowers in our garden of life.

Sometimes there seems to be so many cares (everyday household tasks, care of our families, etc.), that there is but a little time left for nourishing our souls on the word of God. It is so important that women not only supply the physical needs of their families (if they are married) but also nourish the spiritual needs of ourselves and those for whom we care. Single women who are seeking and molding careers need to remember their Lord and not become so intent on becoming successful that they forget spiritual responsibilities.

We see women today who have little time for prayer, for Bible study, much less for teaching a class, for taking a meal to a family, for washing the dishes or clothes for a sick mother, for attending gospel meetings, for preparing a meal for the visiting preacher, or for a needed visit to the nursing home.

Has Materialism Possessed Us?

Many are so caught up in materialism that they concentrate all their efforts on furnishing an expensive and elaborate house with the latest “House Beautiful” designs that they have little concern and time for God’s house, the church. Others are forever seeking designer clothes with the proper labels and they spend so much on clothes and jewelry for the outward man while failing to adorn the inward man. We need to take to heart I Timothy 2:9-10; 1 Peter 3:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. kingdom first in everything we do (Matt. 6:19-34).

We have so much and are so spoiled with all the luxuries and conveniences, that we really do not appreciate what we have, nor what it means to sacrifice. Often we hear preacher’s wives complain because their husbands are away holding meetings and preaching the gospel. Shame! Wives of pioneer preachers tended the farms, reared the children and sacrificed much because they believed that preaching the gospel was the most important work in the world. They chose the “good part.”

In many of today’s congregations it is almost impossible to have a ladies’ Bible class during the week because so many of the woman work outside the home. Sometimes it is proper, yea, even necessary for a woman to work outside the home, but it is sad when such is not necessary and husbands are neglected, little children are left with babysitters when they need their mothers and the house is left in disarray. All of this is done for the luxuries and excesses of life.

By our materialistic attitude and example we teach our children that money, property, tangible things, regardless of what we say to the contrary, make the world go around. Francis D. Breisch wrote, “You name it and we have it -split-level houses, automobiles, televisions, washers, dryers, dishwashers, boats, motorcycles, etc., etc., etc. Hordes of children grow up in three and four-bedroom homes, with 2V2 baths, three telephones, two televisions (at least one a color set), two or three cars, and a confidence that they will not only graduate from high school but go on to college and even get an advanced degree.

Ahead of them lie executive positions in the everexpanding economy, more money than their parents had, bigger homes, more cars, and so on ad nauseum” (Facing Today’s Problems, p. 125). Yes, materialism is causing many to lose sight of the “good part, which shall not be taken away.”

Pressures All Around Us

Women today who are Christians, whether we be single, wives, mothers, young, middleage, or elderly, can make application in our lives as we read the short story of Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha.

It seems that now, more than at any other time, we are pressured from all sides to mold our lives, not according to the word of God, but according to the Madison Avenue “Bible.” We fall prey to the propaganda of the ERA, we become afflicted with the disease of materialism and we become the target of constant bombardment of the fashion world. We are urged to never look older than twenty-five and often we are proded to wear that which is unbecoming, immodest and unpleasing to God, if we want to be in style. “Calvin Klein” and “Izod” logos become our symbols of prestige. May we not be intimidated, but have the courage and faith to do that which is right, putting Christ and His kingdom first in everything we do (Matt. 6:19-34).

Some Worthy Observations

Albert Barnes wrote in summary of this narrative the following: “(1) That the cares of this life are dangerous, even when they seem to be most lawful and commendable. Nothing of a worldly nature could have been more proper than to provide for the Lord Jesus and supply His wants. Yet even for this, because it too much engrossed her mind, the Lord Jesus gently reproved Martha. (2) It is of more importance to attend to the instructions of the Lord Jesus than to be engaged in the affairs of the world. The one will abide for ever; the other will be but for a little time. (3) There are times when it is proper to suspend worldly employments, and to attend to the affairs of the soul. (4) If attention to religion be omitted at the proper time, it will always be omitted. (5) Piety is the chief thing needed. Other things will perish. We shall soon die. All that we can gain we must leave. But the soul will live. There is a judgment-seat; there is a heaven; there is a hell; and all that is needful to prepare us to die, and to make us happy for ever, is to be a friend of Jesus, and to listen to His teaching. (6) Piety is the chief ornament in a female. It sweetens every other virtue; adorns every other grace; gives new loveliness to the tenderness, mildness, and grace of the female character. Nothing is more lovely than a female sitting at the feet of the meek and lowly Jesus, like Mary; nothing more unlovely than entire absorption in the affairs of the world, like Martha” (Barnes on the New Testament, Luke-John, pp. 71-72). These things deserve our utmost consideration.

In conclusion, as we strive to make heaven our home, be sure that we choose the one thing that is needful, the word of God, and set our affections on things above and not on things on the earth (Col. 3:2).

May the Lord help us to be more like Mary.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 17, pp. 529-530
September 1, 1983

By Verna McKee

During the seventy year period of Babylonian captivity, under the rule of King Ahasuerus (commonly thought to be King Xerxes), the Lord has seen fit to leave us a bit of history to give us courage in times of distress. On the seventh day of a heathen orgy, Ahasuerus so forgot himself as to send for his queen Vashti to make an appearance before the king’s drunken guests. Vashti refused to come and angered the king. The princes who witnessed the refusal, fearing lest her example would be followed by their women, recommended that Vashti be put away and another queen found to take her place.

A Humble Virgin

The king sent his officers to all the provinces of the kingdom to gather fair young virgins. They were brought to Shushan the palace and placed in the care of Hegai the king’s chamberlain, keeper of the women, and given all the rites of purification. Living near the palace was a Jew named Mordecai who had in his care the daughter of his uncle. Her name in the Persian language was Esther. This girl entered no beauty contests. She never pushed herself forward to seek the crown of Vashti. She was found, however, and taken with the other young virgins to Sushan. They were all given special privileges and allowed all they demanded – but Esther only asked for what Hegai thought she should have. In this way she won, not only his favor, but that of all who looked upon her.

An Obedient Daughter

Although Esther was an orphan, she was reared by Mordecai as a daughter and honored him as a father. When she was one of those chosen, Mordecai told her not to show her people and kindred; she told no one that she was a Jewess. Mordecai walked every day before the court of the women to know of the fate of Esther. As each virgin spent the night with the king after her twelve month purification, she was sent on to the second house of the women to be a part of the harem only called to the king by name if he ever wanted her again. After Esther’s night of testing, King Ahasuerus loved her above all women, set the royal crown upon her head in place of Vashti, and made a royal feast to praise her before all the kingdom. Yet Esther obeyed Mordecai and did as he charged; she didn’t tell who her people were.

A Faithful Wife

In Mordecai’s sitting in the king’s gate, he learned of treachery against the king by two of his chamberlains. When Esther was told of this by Mordecai, she gave the information to the proper authorities who had the matter proved and the guilty men hanged. Esther had Mordecai’s name given credit for saving the life of her husband and the record was made in the book of the chronicles of the king.

A man called Haman had been given a high rank in the kingdom by Ahasuerus. He became a bitter enemy to Mordecai. Mordecai was a Jew and he refused to bow and reverence Haman as he passed as the other king’s servants did. In Haman’s pride he determined to wipe out all of Mordecai’s nationality. By misrepresenting the Jews and offering to pay ten thousand talents of silver for the carrying out of the decree, Haman influenced the king to sign and mark with his ring a seal, dooming all Jews to death.

A Brave Queen

When word of Haman’s decree went throughout Shushan, there was fear, tears, fasting and wailing in sackcloth and ashes among the Jews, including Mordecai. Esther tried to encourage Mordecai but he knew too well the end for the Jews unless something could be done. He sent Esther a copy of the decree by the king’s chamberlain appointed to wait on Esther, and charged her to go to the king to plead for her people. The law of the kingdom decreed death to any who,went before him without invitation if the king’s scepter was not held out, that he might live. Mordecai’s message to Esther is one of the most quoted Old Testament passages as he warned her that being Queen would not save her if all Jews were killed. “For if thou altogether hold thy peace at this time, then there shall relief arise to the Jews from another’s place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther sent word to Mordecai that she would go in to the king even if she perished for it but she wanted all the Jews in Shushan to join with her and her maidens in three days of fasting to precede her effort.

A Clever Hostess

After her favorable reception by the king and his offering her any request even to the half of his kingdom, all that Esther requested was that the king and Haman be her guests that night at a banquet she would prepare. Her request at the first banquet was that they join her at a second banquet the next day. Haman was so elated that he rushed home to tell his family how honored he had been. Even this was spoiled by passing Mordecai who still refused to give him honor. At that, even knowing Mordecai would perish with the other Jews was not enough; he erected a gallows on which to hang this enemy to his pride and pleasure with himself.

That very night, unable to sleep, the king called for the book of the records of the chronicles of the king to be read to him. For the first time, the king learned of Mordecai’s part in saving his life. The next day Ahasuerus turned to Haman for advice about the best way to honor a man the king delighted to honor. With the’exalted opinion Haman had of himself, he could think of no one else to whom the king would refer. He outlined what he would want: putting on the king’s royal apparel, wearing the king’s crown, riding the king’s horse, led by one of the king’s most noble princes through the street of the city proclaiming, “Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor.” Immediately the king told Haman to make the arrangements and to honor Mordecai in this way for saving his life. Haman obeyed but went home mourning.

At the second banquet Esther had for the king and Haman, she asked for her life and the life of her people. The king was so angry when he learned that his trusted Haman had endangered his beloved Esther and her people that he went in wrath to the palace garden. In Hamqn’s fear at the evil determined against him by the king, his nerve broke and he pled with the queen for his life. Just as the king returned to the banquet hall, Haman fell upon the bed where Esther was. When the king thought Haman was trying to force the queen, Haman’s doom was sealed. When told of the gallows Haman had prepared for Mordecai, the king had Haman hanged there.

An Honored Jewess

King Ahasuerus gave to Esther all that Haman owned. He told Esther and Mordecai the Jew~to write a device and seal it with his ring for the relief of Esther’s people. According to the law, Haman’s writing to destroy the Jews could not be reversed because it was sealed with the king’s ring. However, word was sent throughout the land, wherever Haman’s laws had gone, giving the Jews the right to gather together in every city, to stand for their life, to destroy, the slay, and to cause, to perish all who would work to destroy them and the Jews were to take spoil of all who would try to make them prey.

Mordecai was given honor and dressed as a prince to sit in Shushan the palace and his fame went throughout the land. The Jews overcame Haman’s followers, not only in far places but in Shushan itself and Haman’s ten sons were hanged upon the gallows.

Esther the queen and Mordecai the Jew proclaimed a new feast to commemorate the rest that they had from their enemies. Each year the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar were to be celebrated with gladness and feasting and sending portions one to another and gifts to the poor.

These days were to be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, every city. These are called the days of Purim and given so that the Jews would never forget the deliverance obtained for them by Mordecai the Jew and his niece, Queen Esther, wife of Ahasuerus.

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 17, pp. 528-529
September 1, 1983

There are few things more pleasing to me than to see a young Christian willing to take a bold stand for what is right. Instead of giving in to peer pressure, which is characteristic of most teenagers, occasionally you will see some who remember their Creator in the days of their youth (Eccl. 12:1). Robin Underwood is such a young Christian.

Robin likes to play basketball. From what I understand she is pretty good at playing basketball. Robin wanted to play on the school’s team. Of course, she knew the uniform of the girl’s basketball team was unbecoming for one professing godliness (1 Tim. 2:9-10). So she decided that she would play only if she was allowed to wear her warm-up pants. This attire was permitted by the coach, so Robin is now playing on her school’s team.

Robin is a fine example of how one can enjoy life while at the same time putting God first in her life. One can engage in wholesome activities without performing in immodest apparel. One can make time for proper secular events without sacrificing service to God. You can “rejoice … during your childhood” and “yet know that God will bring you to judgement for all these things” (Eccl. 11:9).

Those young girls who believe that they must strip before the world in order to play basketball need to reconsider. Those young girls who believe they must appear naked (the Bible uses that word for the improperly clothed) before they can lead their band in marching need to stop and think again. Those young girls who believe they must appear in lewd dress and actions before they arouse the cheers of the crowd need to restudy their decision. Robin didn’t have to compromise with the world; why do you?

What is more important? Is a winning trophy worth the price of modesty? Is a high kick worth the price of purity? Is a split worth the price of godliness? “For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)

Robin is the oldest daughter of John and Rosetta Underwood of Route 1, Box 210, Middlebourne, WV 26149.

Ronny Millner

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 17, p. 527
September 1, 1983

By Gary Henry

How can a godly person navigate dangerous spiritual straits, achieve secular success, and still remain true to his faith? When the challenges of society constantly change, how can the victory of faith be won repeatedly by a man determined to do right in every circumstance? The encouraging example of Daniel in the Old Testament illustrates how these questions can be answered. To think of Daniel is to think of both “faith” and “success,” and to study Daniel is to learn how faith and success can be joined harmoniously in the life of one good man.

In the World Vs. Of The World

Uprooted from the security of his homeland and taken captive to pagan Babylon, Daniel was soon recognized as a promising candidate for government service under Nebuchadnezzar. But the training regimen for this position included a diet which Daniel could not eat, and he “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank” (Dan. 1:8). Daniel risked his career on this decision, but the risk was a wise one – eventually Nebuchadnezzar found Daniel and his friends “ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in his realm” (1:20). Godliness did not obstruct Daniel’s career. It advanced it!

The distinguished service rendered by Daniel throughout the reigns of successive Babylonian and Medo-Persian kings strikingly demonstrates that the godly can take their place in the society where they find themselves and play their part in current affairs. They can remain true to God, bringing glory to God and blessing to men. Daniel’s attitude is-exceptionally fine. He lost no time moaning about how much easier it was back home to be faithful to God. He chose not to stick his head in the sand and hide from his new environment. He made no attempt to isolate himself. Instead, Daniel faced the challenge of the present moment and dared to exercise the courage of his convictions where he was. In doing so, he gained the unqualified respect of his superiors, and ultimately rose to a position second only to the king himself (cf. 2:46-48; 5:11, 12; 6:1-3, 28).

Today, men and women are needed who understand that God is not served in the monastery, but in the marketplace. The Christian refreshes and strengthens himself among fellow believers, but his service to God cannot end there. Inevitably, he must live and work among unbeliever s, and when he does, he will need the encouragement of a Daniel, who knew that one tan penetrate the world without imitating it, that one can be in the world without the world getting in him. He will need to remember the prayer of Jesus for His apostles: “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (Jn. 17:15). It is not only impossible to go “out of the world” (1 Cor. 5:10), it is a mistake to try. Jesus said His followers were the “salt of the earth” (Mt. 5:13), and salt which remains in the salt shaker does little good for anyone.

Not everyone, of course, has the strength of character and faith Daniel had. Many are the modern-day Christians who could not handle the special risks of Daniel’s high position. The potentially compromising situations, the scheming of envious rivals, and the unrelenting criticism which go with leadership careers have been the undoing of more than a few who rashly involved themselves in spiritually hazardous circumstances. Daniel shows only that survival is possible, not that it is easy. There is a large difference between “courage” and “foolhardiness” – the weak are far better off to stay out of places and positions that threaten their spiritual well-being. It is well to remember that the good Daniel was able to do in his high office would have been as nothing compared to the damage he would have done had he broken under the pressure and compromised his faith.

But it is heartening to know that Daniel did not break. His character was so unimpeachable and his reputation so clean that even his keenest critics took it for granted that his God would come first, no matter what. Only that kind of consistency can gain the respect Daniel enjoyed. Watered-down, easily-compromised “convictions” not only are repugnant to God, they are rarely admired even by the world. The “cultural chameleon,” who has no identity of his own but merely changes his colors to match society around him, has the respect of few. Daniel’s success among unbelievers is impressive evidence that one can grow in favor with God and man, but it takes a consistency that is extraordinary. Let those of us take notice who think one must copy the world to have its respect. It is not so!

Obedience Vs. Expedience

Daniel’s career spanned the governments of several kings. His service was rendered over many years in situations that were frequently changing. Had he not understood the difference between “obedience” and “expedience,” it is unlikely that Daniel could have maintained his consistent character amid these shifting scenes. There surely must have been times when he was tempted to conform his conduct to the dictates of good “politics,” but he perceived that true obedience to God demands rising above such considerations. We can be thankful for the example of this man who never flattered anyone to gain personal advantage. In his interpretation of dreams, for example, he never doctored the message to suit what his superiors would want to hear. His faithfulness did not depend on any particular set of favorable circumstances. He was as loyal in any one situation as another, showing himself to be a man of substance, interested above all else in pleasing God.

Peer pressure was as powerful in Daniel’s day as it is now, but so far as we know he never yielded to it if it meant disobeying God. Daniel had more conviction than to go with the flow, carried along with the tide of popular opinion. He steered a course of his own choosing, governing his actions by values and principles he had already decided on. In this respect, Daniel proved himself superior to most of us, who tend to make up the rules as we go. Regardless of what others might be doing, Daniel’s ultimate concern was with the question: what is right? His conscience would not allow him to ignore the fixed rules of righteousness, no matter how great the pressure of his peers.

Sacrificial Faith Vs. Superficial Faith

Daniel’s conduct in various crises reflects the fact that his faith in God was deep and genuine. There was no shallowness or superficiality about him. His commitment was authentic. He actually relied on God. And it was this utter dependence upon God that saved him from danger in the lions’ den: “Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God” (6:23). Like the faith of Noah, Abraham, David, and many others before him, Daniel’s commitment to God was in the heart, as well as the head. He knew God, as well as the Scriptures of God. Those of us who read of Daniel may never be thrust into the physical dangers he was, but it is important to understand that the reliance upon God which turned out to be Daniel’s salvation was built up in the years before he knew exactly how it was going to be needed!

Faith of the quality of Daniel’s is not available to be “turned on” in some unexpected crisis if there are no reservoirs to draw from. These reservoirs are filled only by daily communion with God. It is ironic that the thing for which Daniel was sentenced to death, his praying, was the very thing that had prepared him to survive the ordeal unscathed. The relation between his faithfulness and his prayerfulness is no coincidence. Each reinforced the other. Daniel had confidence in God because he daily communicated with God. Having regularly built up his trust in God over the course of many years, Daniel was able in occasional special difficulties to call upon a faith that he knew would be there. How very different from us who neglect our daily devotional activities and then are dismayed to find that we have no faith when we need it most.

Daniel was used to praying. It had become a regular part of his daily activity, probably from childhood. Without a doubt, Daniel’s praying was more than habit, but it is significant that it was his custom, his daily practice. Threatened with death if he continued to pray, he went home, “and in his upper room, with his windows opened toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (6: 10). Over 90 years old at this time, Daniel simply did what he had long before trained himself to do. It was not the first time nor the last, when Satan’s onslaughts were thrown back by the force of good habits.

The experience of Daniel illustrates why it is so important for parents to teach their children to pray daily, and to attend to the other activities that build spiritual vitality and strength. It is impossible to know in advance what our children may have to face when they are Daniel’s age. When the time comes for their faith to be tested, it will be greatly to their advantage to be accustomed to doing the right thing. Parents who fail to weave such habits into the fabric of their children’s lives are depriving them of the crucial advantage of being able later to fall back on childhood training as a reserve of power and protection. When temptation rears its ugly head, that resource may mean the difference between standing and falling. What a pity if, in the hour of trial, our children are missing the sturdiness of habits we could have helped them acquire!

Because of Daniel’s total confidence in God’s wisdom and power, he was a man of courage. Morally, as well as physically, he was brave. No threat of danger could unnerve him spiritually. And Daniel’s gallantry is- all the more astounding when we recall that he sometimes stood alone. He would surely have been able to identify with what Paul later wrote: “At my first defense no one stood with me, but allforsook me … But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, . . . And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion” (2 Tim. 4:16, 17). Like Daniel and Paul, we may never know God is all we need until God is all we have. Stripped of every means of external human support, we may learn what Paul meant when he said, When I am weak, then I am strong ” (2 Cor. 12: 10).

The faith and courage of Daniel together produced an impressive decisiveness that is sorely needed by many of us now. When the path of duty was clear to Daniel, he promptly acted. He wasted no time in hesitation, trying to figure a way of having it both ways. Faced with important choices, he chose! Progress nearly always comes from having the will to choose between alternatives, rather than trying to combine them. The success which attended Daniel’s daring decisiveness warns us against that dangerous moral wishy-washiness that wavers between right and wrong.

Conclusion

Daniel had his priorities straight. Putting God first was not a matter of convenience – it was a settled conviction. His values and principles were not for sale at any price, nor would they be surrendered under threats of physical punishment. His integrity was far more valuable to him than anything he could have gained by compromising it. We can learn from Daniel that the unpleasant pressures that are brought to bear upon the man of integrity are at the worst annoyances. They can do no real harm, nor can they keep him from the success that really counts.

Let us remember, however, that Daniel was a man of faith, as well as integrity. His honesty and straightforwardness were founded on his godliness. His many victories were the victories of genuine trust in the God of heaven. The depth and substance of his character are attributable to his fellowship with his Creator. The quality of his faith enhanced the quality of his life. And, because he was thoroughly committed to God, he altered the world he lived in. His life powerfully demonstrates that men of commitment move the world – because the world cannot move them. Were Daniel alive today he would no doubt frequently recall us to what was written by the apostle John: “Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4).

Guardian of Truth XXVII: 17, pp. 525-526
September 1, 1983