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older women to “teach what is good, 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” (Titus 2:3-5). Elsewhere the apostle
wrote, “I would have younger widows marry, bear children,
manage their households, and give the adversary no
occasion for slander” (1 Tim. 5:14).
Did you catch what’s at stake? Women are encouraged
to labor at home so that God’s Word won’t be
reviled (Titus 2:5) and so that God’s enemy won’t be
able to revile (1 Tim. 5:14). Homemaking, then, far
from being a regrettable vestige of patriarchal repression;
it is a glorious calling imbued with cosmic significance.
Stay-at-home wives and moms are uniquely
positioned to defend the honor of God’s word and to
render the ancient serpent speechless. Such a job may
seem menial, but it’s far from meaningless.
JUST TO BE CLEAR
A couple brief clarifications are in order.
First off, I must admit that I mixed feelings about
the Investopedia study. I’m not quite sure what to think
about the $96,291 figure. Perhaps it ought to be higher;
perhaps it ought to be lower. Either way, it matters little
to me, for the worth of homemaking doesn’t rest on
monetary estimates calculated by financial agencies.
In my judgment, the utility of the study lies neither in
providing an inerrant statistic nor in denigrating any
woman who for a multiplicity of reasons may have to
work in a vocation beyond her household. Single moms,
for example, are just as heroic in my eyes.
Second, it’s critical to note that husbands and dads
get no hall pass when it comes to the affairs of the
home—a fact repeatedly stressed in Scripture (see, for
example, 1 Tim. 3:4-5, 12; 1 Tim. 5:8; Titus 1:6; 2 Cor.
12:14; Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21).
Nevertheless, God has uniquely entrusted wives and
moms with a primary responsibility to serve as caretakers
in the home. Such a calling is neither inferior nor
imprisoning, and it certainly isn’t for the faint of heart.
Clothed with strength and dignity, God’s woman has a
divine mission to silence Satan.
QUIETLY FAITHFUL AND WORTHY OF
HONOR
Proverbs 14:1 states, “The wise woman builds her
house” (cf. Prov. 24:3-4). While the monetary value and
practical feasibility of full-time homemaking may vary
from home to home, what remains constant is the irreplaceable
significance of a homemaker’s contributions.
The Investopedia article concludes:
The daily work of a homemaker can sometimes
be taken for granted…. However, these services
could earn a homemaker a considerable wage if
[she] took those skills to the marketplace. Homemakers,
in general, contribute a lot more to the
home in addition to these tasks and no amount
of money can fill those needs.
Indeed, no study could ever fully quantify the service
of a mother who “looks well to the ways of her
household” (Prov. 31:27). At the very least, this research
should prompt us to express fresh appreciation to those
stay-at-home moms whom we love and who, though
receiving little recognition in the eyes of the world, are
faithful and treasured in the eyes of their King.
ENDNOTES
1
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financialedge/0112/How-Much-Is-A-Homemaker-Worth.
aspx
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