Rudyard Kipling felt that preachers were very hard on Martha, so he wrote a poem in defense of this poor woman. Here is part of the poem entitled The Sons of Martha:

The sons of Mary seldom bother
for they have inherited that good part;
But the sons of Martha favor their mother
of the careful soul and the troubled heart.

And because she lost her temper once,
and because she was rude to the Lord her Guest,
Her sons must wait upon Mary's sons
world without end, reprieve, or rest.

And the sons of Mary smile and are blessed -
they know the angels are on their side.
They know in them is the grace confessed
and for them are the mercies multiplied.

They sit at the Feet-they hear the Word -
they see how truly the promise runs
They have cast their burden upon the Lord,
and-the Lord, he lays it on Martha's sons.