Should a woman stay home and not work to take care of the children?<\/p>\n\t
I find your question perplexing because I don’t know of a greater work or a more difficult work than that of raising children. One of the tasks assigned by God to women is that of home management. “That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste,\u00a0homemakers<\/b>, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed<\/i>” (Titus 2:4-5). The importance of this duty is seen in the final phrase. Women are to do these things so that the word of God may not be blasphemed. In another letter, Paul expresses it in this manner, “Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children,\u00a0manage the house<\/b>, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully<\/i>” (I Timothy 5:14).<\/p>\n
The rise of feminism has caused many people to have a distorted view of what home management entails. However, we can see it described at its fullest in\u00a0Proverbs 31:10-31\u00a0in the description of the excellent wife. Just as a husband is responsible for managing the incoming funds on which a family operates, the wife is responsible for managing the outflow of these funds. Money is not a limitless resource; it must be used wisely to gain the best value for what is spent. Like a merchant who searches out the best bargains in order to reap the greatest gains, so must a wife search out bargains. “She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar<\/i>” (Proverbs 31:14). In getting the most out of every dollar, a wife might use the produce of her household to produce additional funds. “She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night. … She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants<\/i>” (Proverbs 31:16-18,\u00a024).<\/p>\n
Just as a husband should help his wife in the accomplishment of her duties in caring for the household, a wife may make use of her abilities and talents to help her husband in fulfilling his duties of supporting the family. However, neither should get so wrapped up in doing the other’s duty that they begin to neglect their own responsibilities. Each should view the aid they receive as a kindness and not a requirement.<\/p>\n
A lot of work goes into managing a home. “She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness<\/i>” (Proverbs 31:27). A wife plans the meals and assigns tasks to members of the household. “She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants<\/i>” (Proverbs 31:15). She monitors the family’s funds. “She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night<\/i>” (Proverbs 31:18). She provides clothing for her family and sees to the teaching of her children. “She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. … She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness<\/i>” (Proverbs 31:21-22,\u00a026). Surely none of these tasks are meaningless nor menial!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Should a woman stay home and not work to take care of the children? Answer: I find your question perplexing because I don’t know of a greater work or a more difficult work than that of raising children. One of the tasks assigned by God to women is that of home management. “That they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[165,107,82],"class_list":["post-1908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-feminism","tag-raising-children","tag-womens-roles"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":39019,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-a-good-idea-for-both-the-husband-and-wife-to-work-full-time-when-there-is-a-small-child\/","url_meta":{"origin":1908,"position":0},"title":"Is it a good idea for both the husband and wife to work full-time when there is a small child?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi brother Jeffrey, I have a full-time job and my wife would like to work outside the home and let our 3-year old child be taken care of by a maid. But I read Titus 2:5 that women are to be keepers at home. Are we sinning if we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8078,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-a-woman-bear-children-to-be-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":1908,"position":1},"title":"Must a woman bear children to be saved?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Would someone give a clear answer as to the meaning of I Timothy 2:15 which agrees with other clear passages such as John 3:16-17; Hebrews 2:9; I Timothy 2:1-4; II Peter 3;9; Acts 17:30-31; Mark 16:15-16, etc., all of which indicate God's desire for every soul to be saved.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41732,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-right-for-husbands-to-stay-home-and-raise-the-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":1908,"position":2},"title":"Is it right for husbands to stay home and raise the children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about providing for the family. I know that if you don't provide you are like the unbelievers, but what about stay-at-home dads who care for kids? I know is not easy taking care of a household: kids, laundry, etc. Do you think it is right\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89069,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-without-natural-affection-mean\/","url_meta":{"origin":1908,"position":3},"title":"What does “without natural affection” mean?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: \"Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful\" (Romans 1:31 KJV). What is natural affection? Answer: \"Without natural affection\" (astrogous) means \"Being without the natural love between parents and their children.\" Seneca, a Roman philosopher, used the word in \"justifying\" for killing unwanted children. It is a person\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13280,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-supposed-to-try-to-convince-my-husband-to-stay-with-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":1908,"position":4},"title":"Am I supposed to try to convince my husband to stay with me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been married for close to 20 years and my husband informed me around our second year that he married me mainly because I was pregnant. Ever since then his relationship with me has been based around the family and not us as a couple. The other day\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34579,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-for-a-younger-woman-to-teach-older-women\/","url_meta":{"origin":1908,"position":5},"title":"Is it wrong for a younger woman to teach older women?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have been in several small congregations and my wife has been asked to lead woman's classes or has started one where there wasn't one. The problem is that she feels a little strange about it because she is a young woman teaching older women some twice her age\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}