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Martha wasn't rebuked for her work, but for wanting Jesus to get Mary to listen less and work more.

I have been rebuked for the same kind of attitude. Yes, some Americans identify. ;>)

In my mind, one of the wonders of the Scriptures is for a man 2000 years away from the events to identify his own flaws based on a story about two sisters that are long dead.

/john

"In my mind, one of the wonders of the Scriptures is for a man 2000 years away from the events to identify his own flaws based on a story about two sisters that are long dead."

Thank you for that, Johnny. That's quite a breath of fresh air for those of us who are embroiled in the current Episcopal crisis. I'm so tired of hearing how the Scriptures would not/could not have been written the same way today, or must be read through today's PC culture. One thing I do believe. Those that launched this crisis on this particular church, are not ready for backlash that they have unleashed. At least, I'm hoping and praying every day for it.

I've been trying to find something online that comes from a little book called "Ministering Cross-Culturally." It's a simple little set of questions that helps you understand what your cultural values are.

They have 6 or 8 different categories, and you come out stronger on one of two values within each category. For instance, one category is people-oriented versus task-oriented. Another is time-oriented versus event-oriented.

I don't recall all of them now, but have found that little thing so valuable that I've used it several times in teaching I've done in Singapore and Indonesia. You can learn a lot about yourself and your culture from those simple questions.

I know that in most of the ways, I always came out as quite different from what is typical of American culture. It helped me in China and in working with people from all over the world, especially Asia, to be people-oriented and event-oriented rather than task-oriented and time-oriented. But in America I very often feel I don't fit well and have a hard time getting into the flow of things here.

And that's true after over a year now.