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**Please note: I understand that not all women are able to stay home full-time, whether you’re a single mom, financially burdened or your spouse cannot work. There are those of you who don’t have a choice. But for those of you who do, please read this article carefully.**
In today’s culture of feminism, and woman power, one job that often gets overlooked and laughed at is homemaking. The first job that women ever had, and the job that we held for the longest time. For thousands of years, from the beginning of time, the Lord has appointed women to look over their homes and care for the occupants of said home. It wasn’t until recent history that women left the home for a job at all. There was no need for women to leave the home then; and in my opinion, there still isn’t.
Being a homemaker is one of the most revered jobs that we, as women, could be appointed with.
Titus 2:4-5 says And so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.
Proverbs 14:1 says the wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
By staying home, and taking care of the family that God has blessed you with, you are one step closer to doing the will of God, and glorifying Him through your work.
But when you are home, and cleaning and dusting, are you really doing a good job? Are you doing it because you want to? Or are you doing it out of necessity?
When you gave God your heart, when you became saved, you knew you would not do all things perfectly as Jesus did, but the big thing is that you could try.
When you read the word of the Lord, and you understand its meaning, do you follow the advice or the rules that the Bible sets for you? Or do you say “What a nice story,” and go on with your day.
The Bible is clear on the matter, once you know what the will of God is, you are to do it. It is that simple. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
You would not read the word and what it says about worshiping other gods, and then go right out and worship them. Would you? So why would it be any different with homemaking?
Instead of going through your daily routine just for the sake of it, why not dedicate your homemaking routine to the Lord? How do you do that, you ask? Here’s a few ideas for you:
1 | Be Joyful in Your Tasks
When you’re going through your day, cleaning and organizing your home, instead of grumbling and griping about all of the things you have to clean; why not instead thank the Lord for all the things you have? Because, in reality, the more things you have to clean, the more people you have to take care of just shows you how much the Lord has blessed you with. (Proverbs 17:22 | Philippians 4:4)
2 | Be Thorough in All You Do
When cleaning your home, do you “overlook” those messy corners, those dusty windows, and the seemingly small tasks? Do you say “I’ll do it tomorrow,” or, “It’s not a big deal?”
Having a mindset and attitude like this will surely set you up for failure. Do not have a lazy spirit. Doing a thorough job in your household will please the Lord. (Proverbs 10:4 | Proverbs 13:4 | Proverbs 31:27)
3 | Manage Your Tasks Wisely
By thinking through every detail of your home, whether it’s your schedule, your cleaning supplies, how you bring an income into the home, how you homeschool your children, or how you cook dinner.
Using your time wisely in order to have the most time to spend on what’s important is another way to say thank you to the Lord. (Proverbs 31:15-18)
By choosing to stay at home, and to do the will of God, you will become a blessing to your family, and you will begin to see so many more blessings in your life. (Proverbs 31:10-12 | Proverbs 31:28-31)
It is not right for us to go against His will by working outside of the home, not only does it cause stress in the family but it causes strife and grief. Let joy come into your life by serving the Lord through homemaking. Be a blessing to your family and to the Lord through all that you do.
How do you serve the Lord through your homemaking? Leave a comment below, or join the conversation on Facebook.
Hello! I'm Amanda Elizabeth, creator of The Homemaker's Cottage. As a homemaker I have constantly felt the pull between old fashioned homemaking and the fast paced world we live in today. So I created The Homemaker's Cottage: a stress-free space between the old in the new, where there is no judgement and we can learn that homemaking can be relevant, easy and even enjoyable.
Join me on this journey to serve God, your family, and begin homemaking from where you are.
LOVE this! It’s very well written and I totally agree with all you said. I was a homemaker, not by choice, shortly after we got married and I lost my job. I hated it, and was not using my time at home to honour God. But when I started working again, all I wanted was to be a homemaker again! I eventually quit my job (with my husband’s blessing) and decided to wholeheartedly pursue homemaking. I LOVE tending my home and husband and truly believe it’s my God-given purpose! Thanks for sharing your insight, and Biblical reasons for homemaking!
What a wonderful testimony Christina!! Being a homemaker, IS a BLESSING!!! 🙂
I’m a SAHM to 1,5 y sweet girl. Right now I’m in the middle of deciding whether to go back to the work. My boss offered me a part time job, with one day in the office and the rest would be working from home. I mean-who today gets an offer like this, right? But still-that day in the office is bothering me. That means the lo has to go to the daycare or we need a nanny. The idea of being separated from her for whole day is just killing me. Of course we could use some extra money, but is it worth it?
Thank you for this post, it’s certainly a very timely reminder for me right now.
In this day and age that is a good offer, but you have to ask yourself where is the Holy Spirit leading you? Where does your husband want you? Do you need the extra money right now or is it just “fun money” that would be coming in? Ultimately you need to do as your husband tells you, but if you have the choice, follow where the Holy Spirit leads you. I took a job once for just some extra money, and my heart was not in it: I quit within a month. Decide if it’s worth it or not. Your family ultimately comes before all else.
I can see what you are saying — but what about the part that soys, “Out of her earnings…”? That is the part I have always wondered about. The woman in question does make an income. Not as much or as consistently as her husband, but she does. I am considering going back to work at my childrens’ school. I would be on their schedule and on their campus, and all of my earnings would either be used to pay off debt (which is mentioned in the Bible as an unacceptable burden) or to save a down payment for a house. I want an income not for my own empowerment, but to help my family. Would that not also honor the Lord? It is definitely a confusing situation.
From my understanding the Proverbs 31 woman “worked from home”. As we would call it in these days. That she would care for the home first before doing any business. Women work from home today as well; my opinion is that if women want to work from home that they can, but that they should put their families first.
I can understand your confusion, as I’ve felt that for myself before. If all of your children are out of the home, and at school, and you would be accompanying them each day, my personal opinion would be as long as you can take care of your families needs along with the job then go for it. But here’s the thing; I’m not a part of your family, nor am I your husband. This is a decision that is up to you and your husband, led by the Holy Spirit. Please also read my comment above on accepting job offers.
I hope this helps you some. Please know I am praying for all of you ladies!!
I am a married Christian woman from Delhi India. Loved the scriptural insight on homemaking. I love homemaking and really want to be like the virtuous woman of proverbs 31. Pray and hope the Lord Himself may help me to be so.would definitely love more instructions lessons on scriptural homemaking
That’s awesome! I would love to chat more with you about being a homemaker Sharon! Feel free to email me directly at apinchoffaith@gmail.com
I wish I hadn’t taken so long to look at this! I can’t be a stay-at-home-mom/wife, because I am a wife to a man struggling with a disability. However, I’ve been struggling with the “concept” that HE should be the one keeping the home maintained, while I make the money. Yet his disability makes typical day to day living a struggle, even in the home. I’ve been so angry at him for “letting me down”, not even considering how I might be letting HIM down… I’m a woman who needs to do both, and with God’s help, I think I can. These blogs are such a relief and a blessing! Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out to God’s women!
I’m glad you can realize where he is failing, but choose to encourage him instead! It’s a hard road ahead of you, but you will be rewarded for caring for your husband in the end!
Thank you so much for your scriptural insight. As a SAHM, I definitely struggle with managing my time wisely. It is a constant battle between my husband and I (not to mention the spiritual battle within myself). Thank you for helping me realize how blessed I am instead of viewing myself as “Cinderella”.
I have lost my job but not before becoming I’ll and losing nearly 2/3 of blood. I have been off work since 3/17 and unemployment blessed me enough to bring in $630 which is slightly less than half. But our rent was late for 1st time instead of 1st of month it was sent in on 5th of month which puts our household in jeopardy because gentrification threatens our community.
My husband is not a man baptized nor believes in The Word. I do and have changed significantly sense our marriage of 3 years. He has been an alcoholic which is his vice and me of all that I have been delivered from, food is mine but as I fast I am becoming dependent on food for comfort.
I believe God has shown me to start baking and selling cakes and to begin building my business. I still suffer from hemorrhaging since Oct 2016 but I have more strength. However l my husband seems to care about is that I get up and get a job. The reality is with his check alone (if he would go to work each day) is enough for rent. I feel called to avoid working for others and have alreadybgathered my materials for baking. And For every dimebhe gives me I tithe and for every some I find or received or earned I tithe.
He is angry that I haven’t “found” a job yet. And quite honestly our home is filled with chaos from his nightly binges whether I work or not. He has caused me so much stress by how He talks to me and that I am the only designated driver who (until losing my job) had to drive 4 hours a day and take him twice to the liquor stores before we could come home. He was horrible passenger full of criticism of my driving and quite honestly I relieved to have time to recover from that stress.
So I say that to say…since my time home , it I heavy in my spirit to become a work at home wife and homemaker. It is building my heAlth and relationship with God but especially making me be able to get my finances and very disorderly home in order. I will garden and even just received a call from the probation ambassador that He wants to contract me to work as a mentor. I haven’t told my husband these things because he wants me to do things his way but I refuse to keep following the blind. I can love and respect him but I will be obedient to God.
Great article overall, but the straight up statement that it isn’t Gods will that women should work outside the home is passing judgment and unnecessary guilt on those women who have no choice or whose husbands ask that they assist in earning income to make ends meet.
I worked ten long years to pay down debt and save enough money to have children and become a stay at home mom. We cashed out my retirement to put a down payment on a very modest house.
The transition has been hard for all of us. Pregnancy was not kind to my body and I struggled for years with postpartum depression.
Just now with my kids 4 and 2 do I feel that things are beginning to get better. I conclude the following:
1. Work gives purpose and a sense of accomplishment and isn’t inherently wrong. Was Eve a homemaker? I imagine she worked alongside Adam in the garden
2. If a husband asks the wife to work, doing so IS the will of God as he is the head of the home. Everyone’s situation is different
3. Not everyone is skilled to be a homemaker. Everyone should put home first, but this looks different to each home. If you can’t put food on the table but you’re content to be a “homemaker,” is your family really coming first?
Let God lead you in your situation. The prov 31 woman considered a field and bought it (not at home) and went to the market to sell her wares (not at home) she also had a staff that helped her run her home. She managed those under her and delegated.
I don’t have it all figured out, but I can say quality of life at home went down dramatically after I stayed at home because I couldn’t do it all and my husband expected me to. It’s hard to heal your spirit and body when you feel like a failure.
There is such a need for support and resources for young moms. Heaven knows we need it and a little cheerleader encouraging us on!
Well said!
Thank you! I really love this article. It helped me so much to reanalyze the blessing of staying home! I babysit 3-4 other kids & sell direct sales products so that I can stay home! I also always want to make sure my husband has delicious meals & wake up to pack him a sandwich for lunch each morning at 5 am. It’s a sacrifice & hard to wake up so early especially when the baby wakes up at night, but I realize now that this is a serving him & he does appreciate it. Serving him brings us closer together!!! Thanks for writing this. It’s so true! So many Women have forgotten their roles. Doesn’t mean our roles as women are inferior than a man’s their just different & in my eyes sacred! So many women get so mad when told that staying home is important, but it is so true. God created us as male & female with different roles, strengths, & attributes for a reason!!!
I really enjoyed this article. I work from home and find that even working from home can quickly get in the way of having a good attitude when homemaking.
Wonderful article. I needed this reminder because I am finding that working from home makes it harder to have a good attitude while homemaking.
Being a stay at home mom and homemaker is a Holy Vocation.