Today I was adding some articles to the main website and had one of those moments where you stare at a word, wondering if the spelling is correct. Ever had that happen?
Anyway, the word that I stared at for a few seconds, convinced that it was misspelled, was the word “business”. Instead of believing the word was “biz-ness”, I saw the word as pronounced “busy-ness”. And then it struck me. My own struggle with working outside the home at a “business” was due to the resulting “busyness” it created in my life. I never noticed how appropriate the spelling of business was!
I realize nowadays everyone is busy regardless of whether both parents work or not. But being a Christian working mother has some extra obstacles that stay at home Christian mothers and non-believing working mothers don’t have to overcome.
First, if you are working outside the home you have schedule constraints (being at work at a certain time for so many hours, commuting time) that make managing the household a bit more challenging. And I do not mean for a second to imply that being a stay at home mom is easier (been there, done that, it was tough!), but when you work outside the home you are juggling household responsibilities around your work schedule. That can be stressful and leave little time to just relax with your family.
Second, when you are a Christian working mother you have obligations that the non-Christian working mother doesn’t have – God and church. Sundays are not a day to catch up on laundry but a day to worship God and fellowship with other believers. And that is just Sunday. There can also be bible studies, community groups, personal study, etc. So if you work with mostly unbelieving mothers (which is the norm), you won’t find much support.
I think the main difficulty boils down to this – when you are a Christian wife/mother your role is the same whether you work outside the home or not.
“That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:4-5
“Keepers at home”. Even if you work full-time outside the home, you still are responsible before God for keeping the home. In my mind, managing the household is a big job already, so working for a “business” ends up feeling like non-stop “busyness”.
Now, it is better to be busy than idle,
“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:27
but it is not good to be so busy that your family or God are not getting your best. That is the struggle. And that is my struggle.
