Wives in the Workplace (Part 4 & Conclusion)
This is final blog post is Part 4 of our blog series on Wives in the Workplace. Catch the other blogs here: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3
The Contribution of Titus 2:4-5
One of the more important texts on the subject is Titus 2:4-5. “… so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.”
The term “workers at home” translates a compound Greek word combining “oikon” for “home” and “ergon” for “work.” The word stresses the active housewife not an idle one. Her efforts are to bless the husband and children in countless ways at home.The translation in the KJV “keepers at home” is based on a slightly different Greek text reading. The NASB reading is better attested in the manuscript tradition. Philip H. Towner in the New International Commentary of the New Testament writes, “In using this rare term, Paul expresses the ideal in Hellenistic and Jewish cultures that the wife should remain at home and occupy herself in running the household …”
Paul did not elaborate on what working at home meant since everyone knew in that culture what a woman did at home: Grind the flour, bake and cook, do the laundry, be a nurse to the children, spin wool, harvest the grapes, and a ton more. It often took all day to do this vital work. D. E. Hiebert in his commentary on Titus adds this insight, “The home is preeminently the sphere of the woman’s work. Christian women should be the best of housekeepers and models to others. And in her position as queen in the home she will be gentle and considerate as she dispenses all that is good and beneficial in this domain.” The Expositors Commentarypoints out, “The devoted wife and mother finds her absorbing interest in the innumerable duties of the home.” Lenski in his commentary points out succinctly, “ …their home is to be their kingdom.”
- Kent Hughes in his Preaching the Word commentary is particularly helpful as he relates this to modern wives, “We need to be careful not to impose modern debates about women's roles on our interpretation of these words. It is unlikely that Paul had in mind concern about ‘career women’ or mothers in the secular workplace. The Greek phrase literally says that the younger women should be taught to be ‘home workers.’ The emphasis (particularly in light of the earlier instruction to the older women not to be caught in the vices of indolence in the church community) is not on the location of a wife’s work but on being productive in the normal occupations of a wife each day. (Underling added). This instruction still has a bearing on modern discussions even if it is not the absolute command for women to stay-at-home that some may desire. The apostle without question ranks the wife’s obligations to care for her husband and children over her personal benefit or fulfillment. Any woman who makes career status or financial advantage a higher priority in her life than the welfare of her marriage, children, or home transgresses Scripture as well as the signals of a heart sensitive to God’s Spirit.”
The landmark book Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by Wayne Grudem and John Piper, on p. 348 contains these insightful words about how to apply this phrase, “Some Christians have interpreted Titus 2:5 (“workers at home," NASB) to mean that any work outside the home is inappropriate for the wife and mother. But the fact that wives should care for their home does not necessarily imply that they should not work outside the home, anymore than the statement that a ‘overseer’ in the church should ‘manage his own household’ (Timothy 3:4-5) means that he cannot work outside the home. In neither case does the text say that! The dynamic equivalent translation of Titus 2:5 by the NIV, ‘to be busy at home,’ catches the force of Paul’s admonition, namely, that a wife should be a diligent homemaker.”
In that society there was only one place for a woman to work in that culture. The location really had to be at home. If she was not working at home, she wasn’t working. If she wasn’t working at home what would she be doing? One unacceptable occupation outside the home was that of a prostitute.
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Titus 2 agrees with these other assessments, and adds this wisdom, “In consultation with their husbands, they must use good judgment in deciding how much time can justifiably and wisely be spent in activities outside the home, whether at a paying job or in some form of service. When they have a genuine desire to obey and honor the Lord in all things and to conscientiously seek guidance from His word and in prayer, they can be assured that He will provide the necessary wisdom and resolution. The true female victims today are not women who are willingly bound by love to the Lord, to their husbands, and to their children. The true victims are rather those women who have been deceived by unbiblical and satanic feminist ideas about being liberated from God and from the home. The home is where a wife can provide the best expressions of love for her husband. It is where she teaches and guides and sets a godly example for her children. … The home is where she can find authentic and satisfying fulfillment, as a Christian and as a woman.”
Adding even more color to understand the ancient Jewish culture of Titus and Paul, Dr. John MacArthur, in his book, Different By Design, p. 71-75, fills in these helpful details, “While many women worked with their husbands in the field or in a trade, the husband still held the responsibility to provide food and clothing. If any women worked apart from their husbands in the marketplace or at a trade, they were considered a disgrace. A wife could, however, work at crafts or horticulture in the home and sell the fruits of her labor. Profits from her endeavors could then be used either to supplement her husband’s income or provide her with some spending money. In addition to household work, wives were responsible for hospitality and the care of guests, and to be active in charitable work. The Jewish laws were clear: the woman’s priority was in the home. She was to take care of all the needs of her home, her children, her husband, strangers, the poor and needy, and guests. The wife who faithfully discharged her responsibilities was held in high regard in her family, in the synagogue, and in the community.”
Combining Biblical Teaching with Cultural and Personal Considerations
This extended quote from the same book Different by Design, is especially helpful in relating biblical priorities to a wife’s choices about work in the modern age, especially asking women and men to be honest about the affect of materialism on the home.
“Today we have many conveniences in the home that ancient people didn’t have. We don’t have to grind our own grain, make our own fabric, or go to a river to wash our clothes. That means keepers at home have more discretionary time now than before, so they need to be careful to use that time discreetly. There may be things they can do that will benefit the home, that will assist others, or that may even be enterprising like the Proverbs 31 woman and bring in some income. But the home is to remain the priority.
… It may surprise you, but the saying ‘a woman’s place is in the home’ has never sounded quite right to me. Rather, what the Bible is saying is a woman’s responsibility is in the home. There’s no virtue in just staying home; what’s important is what you do when you’re there. Just because a mother stays home doesn’t mean she is spiritual. If she spends a hefty portion of her day watching soap operas or engaging in other profitless ventures, her influence could be as bad as that of a mother who works outside the home to the neglect of children. For a mother to get a job outside the home and put her children in day care is to misunderstand her husband’s role as provider as well as her own duty to the family.
… I realize that some mothers face difficulties that force them to work. In this age of economic insecurity, husbands are subject to layoffs and are unable to provide for their families for a period of time. There is also the tragedy of divorce and single mothers must become the provider. Unfortunately the greater majority of women choose to work outside the home for selfish reasons.
… Certainly women with grown children or no children have a certain freedom in applying the ‘keepers at home’ priority. But be selective and make wise decisions in what you choose to do outside the home so you won’t compromise your priority to preserve your home as a haven for your husband and as a place of hospitality for others. I think it’s especially wonderful when women choose to work in Christian ministry, such as teaching little ones in school, being involved in missions, or ministering to people in a jail or hospital setting. In pursuing ventures outside the home, go before the Lord and your husband, and decide jointly how to do only that which will enhance and enrich your home life and accomplished spiritual goals.”
That is a long quote, but that is great advice!
There are, of course, other problems with wives working outside the home that go beyond the neglect of children. It would be right for us to sound a warning about this trend in the modern work world . Women working outside the home has led to an increase in sexual temptations, intimidations, and innuendos. Professional intimacy is a powerful lure, and women who spend the best time of the day and week with other men, place themselves in more vulnerable surroundings leading to unnecessary temptations. When women are affirmed emotionally by other men in the workplace, that can become a lure damaging young marriages. A godly husband in the home is meant to be protection for his wife.
Another problem with women working long outside the home is brought out in this quote from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, p. 375,
“When a wife goes to work outside the home, often her husband and children go through culture shock. Suddenly the husband has added to his vocational work increased family assignments. He is frustrated over the increase in his own assignments and guilty over his wife’s increased fatigue and extended hours to keep up at home. God did give the husband the responsibility of providing for the family (Genesis 2:15). To sabotage his meeting that responsibility is often a debilitating blow to the man personally and to the marriage. A woman’s career can easily serve as a surrogate husband, as during employment hours she is ruled by her employer’s preferences. Because the wife loses much of her flexibility with the receipt of a paycheck, a husband must bend and adapt to schedule for emergencies with the children, visits to the home by repairman, etc… This leaves two employers without totally committed employees and children without a primary caretaker utterly devoted to their personal needs and nurturing … This is not to say that there are never times when a woman should seek employment outside her home. Nevertheless, are we coming to a day when a woman’s employment outside the home is the rule rather than the exception, leaving no one to give primary attention to the home and to producing the next generation?”
A Principled and Balanced Conclusion
From a Q & A at Grace to You we find this thoughtful summary of application,
“There is nothing in Scripture that specifically forbids a woman from working outside the home as long as she is fulfilling her priorities in the home (Proverbs 31). Whether or not a woman works outside the home, God’s primary calling is for her to manage the home. That is the most exalted place for a wife. The world is calling many modern women out of the home, but not the Lord. His word portrays the woman’s role as one preoccupied with domestic duties. It is a high calling, far more crucial to the future of a woman’s children than anything she might do in an outside job. The ultimate decision is a personal one that each woman must make in submission to her husband’s authority. Obviously, a single woman would be free to work and pursue outside employment. A married woman with no children is perhaps a little less restricted in the amount of time and energy she can devote to an outside job. A woman who is a mother obviously has primary responsibility in the home and would therefore not be free to pursue outside employment to the detriment of the home. In fact, from a parental perspective it is difficult to see how a mother could possibly do all that needs to be done in the home with the upbringing of children, hospitality, care of the needy, and work for the Lord (cf. 1 Timothy 5:3-14) and still work in an outside job. Indeed, any wife who fulfills God’s priorities in her life and home will be a busy lady. However, her children and her husband will rise up and called her blessed, and a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised (Proverbs 31: 28, 30).”
As we close, ask yourself this question: Are you content to do the will of God, or are you seeking to fulfill your life in a way God has not ordained?
In evaluating your decision further, here are some helpful questions to discuss as a couple from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, p. 348,
- Is it really beneficial to her family?
- Does it aid her husband in his calling?
- Does it, in correlation with these first two, bring good to others?
- Can she do it while still being faithful to her primary calling to be wife and mother and to care for her home?”
“The decision in this realm must not be unilateral on a part of the woman but made under the leadership of her husband as the head of the marriage and the family.”
Some women have thought all these principles through carefully and found a way to boost their husband’s esteem and standing in society, train her children well, and also work outside the home. These industrious women have found the right slot in the work place with the right boss and the right income and the right timing at the right seasons of life to bring economic benefit to the home, advance their husband’s career, and their children’s discipleship. These women must not be deprecated for their decision but supported as making a sound decision for the benefit of the home.
Nor should we deprecate women who have chosen a lesser lifestyle to make their home excellent indeed. A woman who excels in the home should be praised, not belittled.
In either decision, let us not judge each other on this issue, but continue the discussion in a loving and accepting atmosphere inside the body of Christ. A church is the place to grow and learn from others, and, yes, sometimes disagree. But we support one another as fellow travelers to our eternal home in Heaven as we walk in obedience to the Word of God here in our families.