The ARGUMENT-I have learned not to speak for God. For one I am a flawed created being and He does not need a creature to speak for HIM-The Creator. Some things HE left somewhat open and I cannot be as dogmatic about things like I want to. My great friend Lionel and I disagree on this issue along with the whole Home School/Public school idea. With a passion I said I would set out to destroy his argument about women in the work place-but I cannot because I submit my life to scripture. Two opposing views. We cannot not conclude from scripture that women are prohibited to work outside of the home or can we say for sure that they should work away from the home primarily. We can agree from scripture that the primary role and he fulfillment is found in her home and in Christ. Should Women Work outside the home?
My Biased View- I have a conviction and firmly hold to the fact that women's first priority is her home and attending to the needs of her family above all else. This I can grasp from scripture and hold firmly to it. Personally I feel women should stay home and the man should be the breadwinner. My mother stayed home with me until I was 10 years old and also contributed to the household. Yes I attended public school. My mother staying home with me completely benefited me more than I can express and I think if is detrimental in the lives of children especially today in 2007.
Personal-My wife works a 40 hour week just like me(I actually work 50+ hours) and I am and always have been against it but gave her the OK(she asked me) since we got tired of being broke. We have our first son in July of 2006. My wife stayed home for approximately 9 months and the bills beat us up like we stole something. So she is back to working against her will and mine. It is as hard as nails to make it on one income but can be done. During those 9months I worked 70 plus hours a week and worked seven days a week. Really I did not bother me even though I had to step away from Bible College due to my workload and of course our family relationship suffered.
2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.
The Problem-We live in a culture where success is in the things of this world versus the things eternal. We could have downsized and went back to an apartment from our house but who likes moving backwards? You see in the eyes of our culture that is considered going backwards when possibly in the eyes of Christ-this may have been pleasing to HIM and could have moved us towards Christ-likeness.
4 Scriptures that speak on this.
1) Proverbs 14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. This obviously does not make it a mandate to work from home only but it was her priority.
3) Titus 2:3-5 "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
4) 1 Tim 5:14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander."
We can draw from this a model of what God expects from a godly woman. The topic here is widows. Paul speaks on older women 60+ and says that the younger widows should get remarried and manage their homes. The Greek word for manage is oikodespoteĊ.
It means to be master (or head) of a house/to rule a household, manage family affairs. Of course in Biblical context we understand she is still under submission to her head which in the husband. Question. How can she manage her house well if her focus and desire is primarily away from the home? She cannot give her full attention to her God given responsibility if her focus is elsewhere. Personally I think if the Lord gives you a child a reward-we do not put our child off on someone else to raise for 8 hours a day. It is our heritage from the Lord not the babysitters. This infuriates me!!!! and I think we as parents are sometimes out chasing paper($$) and casting our children off while neglecting to do our God-given task.
Psalm 127 :3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
My response is," You selfish, self-centered, egotistical dirt bags!!!! Oh I better stop-I am talking about myself too. Regardless of who it is, I am still mad and think it borders sin when we really examine our motives. We are so far away from Biblical truth that we don't see our self in proper comparison to what God has called us to invest in and we ignorantly find fulfillment in temporary, satisfactory, unfulfilling things. Our wives are called to be our helpmeet's but in that if it goes against her taking care of her number one priority maybe we should do some cutbacks financially speaking. Don't let our culture dictate how we cherish and raise our families. You know we are only her for a short time and our focus is not on the things of this world. We set our affections on pleasing the Lord regardless of the cost.
1. Should we make it a goal to get our wives back in the home? Does this seem even harder in the black culture? I says yes.
2. By women working, your wife is being put under the submission of a male/female boss. Does that take her from your covering and create things such as adultery, temptation, gossip, and other bad influences?
3. Do you think our perspectives are flawed based on the fact that we are so inundated with the commonalities of our culture? Single moms, abortion, bad men, absentee fathers.
4. Because of the culture we live in and the shortage of good men(so they say) should the true church take on the responsibility of assisting single or widowed mothers stay at home?
