A Homemaker, eh?

In today’s culture the word homemaker gets people all out of character. Mention that word and you are sure to get lots of looks from confusion to excitement and everything in between. You may even hear an occasional comment or two along the lines of: “that’s not for me”…..or “I’m not staying home and having a bunch of kids…..” – this is all because majority of us have a distorted understanding what it truly means to be a homemaker….according to Scripture that is.

Titus 2:4-5 says, “that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”

When reading it in this context, it sounds like we’re supposed to be puppets on a string, tied down with little independence – but that’s far from the truth. Actually, the word homemaker means keeping a godly home with excellence for one’s husband and children which is the Christian woman’s non-negotiable responsibility. This doesn’t say that a married Christian woman can’t work outside the home. It also doesn’t mean that it’s old-fashioned or out of season to decide to not work. Honestly, it doesn’t even call homemaking a job.

Read 1 Timothy 5:14 with me – “Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully.”

Not going into widows marrying and bearing children – that’s a whole new post, LOL! Zeroing in on managing the house, however, denotes all the aspects of household administration. The home is the domain where a married woman fulfills herself in God’s design. This directly shadows Genesis 2:18, “and the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.'” If we as married Christian women can shift our focus to the truth of being a homemaker, perhaps we would find more joy in fulfilling our part in God’s great design.

We were not created to be dominant in certain areas. We were not created as insufficient beings. We were made by God to meet man’s deficiency. We were given an integral part in making things work how God created them to work. How honorable is it that we have the opportunity to keep a godly home with excellence for our husband’s and children? We are all too familiar with the Proverbs 31 woman and can often make ourselves feel that we don’t measure up to that. But if we change our focus from the demanding and demeaning points of view to an honorable and privileged one, perhaps we will begin to see our role in a whole new light. I know I have.

I went from being a nagging, unjoyful wife and mother to (at least half of the time) finding comfort, joy, and love in not working outside of the home, homeschooling our son, attending to the demanding needs of a 5 month old, loving an amazing man of good who may not deserve it all the time, and simply basking in the grace of our Lord Jesus for His provisions for our family. Of course I don’t have it all together and I will never claim that. Our family lacks in a lot of areas, and we don’t quite live as a modern family BUT we serve the same God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Let’s get this thing right. Let’s make one right decision at a time to not complain when the house is a mess….stress when there are more bills than money…..nag when it seems we’re the only ones doing anything…..revert to stinking thinking of inadequacy when things seem out of control…..and remember these simple truths –

Keeping a godly home far exceeds the kind of home this world tells me I need to have. God’s Word and prayer will go before me and pave ways of joy, peace, comfort, and love as I do what God designed me to do. I will not compare my home to others. I will not compare the cross I carry to others. I will decide everyday to take up MY cross, and follow Jesus.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, viewpoints, and stories about being a homemaker. What does it mean to you? How do you see it fulfilled in your mind?