The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1899-02-15
WOMAN IN THE HOME
Dr.. Talmage breaches on the Trials
Of Wives and Mothers.
lessons from the story Of Mary and
Martha-AnnOyances of Home
Life Are Steps to High
Reward.
washington. Feb. l2. Copyright. lsos.I

This discourse OF DIR. Talmage seems
to open all the doors of home life and
rouses appreciation of work not or
dinarily recognized; text, Luke 10:40:
Lord. dost thou not care that my sis
ter hath left me to serve alone? Bid
her therefore that she help me-"
Yonder is beautiful village home
stead. The man of the house is dead
and his widow has charge of the prem
ises. 1t is Widow Martha, of Bethany.
Yes, Twill show you also the pet of the
household. 1t is Mary, the younger sis
ter, with book under her arm. and in
her face no sign of care or anxiety
about anything. Company has come.
Christ appearing at the outside of the
door makes some excitement inside the
door. The sister set back the disar-
ranged rniture, arrange their hair
and in flash prepare to open the door.
They do not keep Christ waiting out
side until they have newly appareled
themselves or elaborately arranged
their tresses, and then with affected
surprise come out and pretend not to
have heard the two or three previous
knockings say: why, is that you?"
No, they were ladies' and always pre-
sentable, although. perhaps, they had
not on their best. None of us always
have on our best. Otherwise very soon
our best would not be worth having on.
They throw open the door and greet
Christ. They say: Good morning,
Master. Come in and be seated"
Christ brought a company of friends
with Him, and the influx of so many
city visitors, you do not wonder, threw
the country home into some perturba-
ton. | suppose the walk from the city
had been a keen appetizer, The kitch-
en- department that day was very i'm
Portant department, and thinls as
soon as Martha had greeted her guests
she went to that room. Mary had no
anxiety about the dinner. She had
full confidence that her sister Martha
could get up the best dinner in Bethany,
and she practically said: Now. let us
have division of labor. Martha, you
cook. and Ill sit down and learn"
The same difference you now some
times see between sisters. There is
Martha, industrious, painstaking, a
good manager ever inventive of some
new pastry, discovering something in
household affairs. Here is Mary, fond
of conversation. literary, so full of
questions of ethics she has no time to
discuss questions of household welfare.
1t is noon. Mary is in the parlor.
Martha is in the kitchen. 1t would have
been better for them to have divided the
toll, and then they could have divided
the opportunity of listening to Christ.
But Mary monopoizes Christ while
Martha sweIters before the fire. twas
very important that they have good
dinner that day, for Christ was hungry,
and He did not often have luxurious en-
tertainment. Alas, me! if all the re-
sponsibility of that entertainment had
rested with Mary, what a repast they
would have had! But something went
wrong in the kitchen. Either the fire
would not burn. or the bread would not
bake, or something was turned black
that ought to have been only turned
brown, or Martha scolded herself and,
forgetting all the proprieties of the oc-
casion, with besweated brow she rushed
out of the kitchen into the parlor, per-
haps with tongs in one hand and
pitcher in the other. and she cried out
Lord. dost thou not care that my sis
ter has left me to serve alone? Bid her
therefore that she help me-" Christ
scolded not word. Ifit were scolding,
would rather have Him scold me than
anybody else bless me. There was
nothing acerb in the Saviour's reply.
He knew that Martha had been working
herself almost to death to get Him
something to eat, and he appreciated
her kindness, and He practically said;
"My dear woman, do not worry. Let
the dinner go. Sit down here on this
couch beside your younger sister Mary.
Let lis talk about something else.
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and
troubled about many things. but one
thing is needful."
AS Martha throws open the door l
look in to-day, and I see great many
household anXieties, and about them
ann going to speak of the Lord of
Mary and Martha and Lazarus will help
me by His grace.
AS look into that door, in the first
place, see the trial of nonappreciation.
That was what made Martha so vexed
at Mary. Mary, the younger sister, had
no proper estimate of the elder sisters
fatigue, just as now men having annoy
ances of store and factory and shop or
at the stock exchange come home at
night and hear of some household an
noyance, and they say: "0h. that's
nothingl You ought to be in factory
day and have ten or fifteen or twenty
or one hundred subordinates. Then you
would know something about annoy
ance and trouble" Oh, man, let me tell
you that wife and mother has to
conduct at the same time university,
a clothing establishment, restaurant,
a laundry, a library, and has to be
health officer, police and president of the
whole realm! She has to do thousand
things, and to do them well, in order to
make things go smoothly, and that is
what puts the awful tax on a woman's
nerves and woman's brain. ! know
there are exceptions to the rule. Some
1iyrae ro,, will fnd n xvomap who on N