Homemaking: Menial or Meaningful?

My ten year old daughter has recently made me do some soul searching by her questioning my role as a homemaker. Just a few years ago she would say,”When I grow up I’m going to be a mommy!” That always made me feel good to know that she admired me and wanted to be like me. However, it appears that the worldly idea of success may have been inching its way into the mind of my daughter. She told me that she was still not sure what she wanted to be when she grew up. She mentioned studying to become a veterinarian, an illustrator, or an author. Then she asked, “What do you do?”

I answered her question correctly with Bible truth, but for an entire day I wrestled with it all in my mind. I thought to myself, “What DO I do? I am a stay-at-home mom, a homemaker, a homeschool mom, a soccer mom. That just seems so menial.” Feeling down and a bit irritated, I decided that the best thing to do was to get on my computer-based Bible program and search for Scriptures about women, mothers, and the home. I also searched through books that I have at home that are written by Christian women on these subjects. I needed reassurance and peace of mind from God. After reading and studying, I was reminded how important my job really is. Yes, I said my J-O-B, because if a mother is doing what she should be doing at home, then it is a job! Sure, I could go back to college, (like Obama is urging so many mothers to do), get a degree, have a career, make money, be recognized by my peers, etc., but what would I be giving up? I would possibly be giving up the spiritual well being of my husband, my children, and myself.

Feminists would like us to believe that men and women are the same, but God’s Word plainly teaches otherwise. We were made to be our husbands’ helpers. My husband is a very talented, faithful, Gospel preacher. That is his job. My job is to HELP him in any and every way possible so that he can be the very best preacher he can be. I am doing God’s will by filling this position. No matter how menial my part may seem by worldly standards, it is a God-given role that is of the utmost importance to the One that matters most.

Being at home with my children is a blessing that I often take for granted. More than anything else, I want to help them to learn how to be strong, faithful Christians. Being a parent is a very serious job. It is a job with eternal consequences that is too often neglected. I cannot think of any job more important than teaching my children how to be successful in life. By the way, true success is not all about money. True success is living a Christian life, going to Heaven, and taking as many people as you can with you!

Not only do I have a responsibility to my husband and children, but I (as a wife and mother) am commanded by God through His Word to be a keeper at home, to love my husband and children, to do everything that I do to the best of my ability, and to have the heart of a servant. Some might say that homemakers are like slaves, forced to do menial tasks. The word “menial” is defined as “a domestic work,” but are we not all commanded to be humble servants? Did Jesus not teach us this lesson when He washed His disciples’ feet? If I am wearing the name “Christian,” I am professing to be a follower of Christ. He is the perfect example of love, service, submission, and sacrifice. If I do not love my husband and children, serve others, and submit to my husband as the head of the family, am I really following Him? If I am not doing these things can I say that I am a faithful Christian?

Homemaking is not a degrading job of monotonous daily tasks, as most feminists would have us all believe. We are not desperate, miserable women stuck at home doing a job that we detest! Homemaking is a God-given career that is full of opportunity, influence, and eternal consequence. What a world this would be if all mothers were Christian homemakers! God’s will is good, acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2). If we will do His will and follow Christ’s example, we will be successful. Our paycheck will be Heaven and our retirement will be eternal bliss!

Verses for study: Romans 12:2, Proverbs 3:5-7, Ecclesiastes 9:10, James 4:10, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Corinthians 11:9-12, 1 Peter 3:1-6, 1 Timothy 2:9-15, Titus 2:3-5.