Stay-At-Home Belief?

Could you please share with me the doctrine or reason for this "stay-at-home belief"?

(Italic words were written by the Hostess' mother. Plain text words written by the Hostess.)

It is such a beautiful adventure on the road to becoming a woman of Christ. We have been surrounded by a culture that has blurred the lines between genders, and sometimes we find ourselves in a haze as to what our roles as men and women of God encompass.

As for "doctrine" regarding the role of a "keeper at home", perhaps a better description would be a "biblical principle" based on several scriptures.

The following are some godly principles that I believe are our calling in life as women.

"And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an helpmeet for him." Genesis 2:18

From the beginning of time, woman was put on the earth to be the helpmeet to man. I believe this to be a glorious calling! We have the power to build and magnify the Lord's kingdom by serving Christ in the home.

Proverbs 31 is a fairly familiar scripture, beginning in verse 10 through the end of the chapter. The Proverbs 31 woman is a shining example of industry in the home.

She is a woman of virtue. She represents her husband's name well wherever she goes and in whatever she does. With wool and flax, she works willingly with her hands. She gathers food from afar. She rises early to feed her family. She buys land to plant grapes. She makes things with a spindle. She grids herself with strength. She makes sure that whatever she makes is of good quality, and she always has extra candles made. She helps the poor and needy. She makes fine clothing for her family and herself so that they will be warm during the winter. Because she is faithful and submissive to her husband, he is able to sit among the elders in the land. She makes fine linen and sells it. She looks well to the ways of her household and isn't lazy. She is a woman of righteousness, speaks with wisdom, and the words she speaks are always with kindness. For all these things, her family will rise up and call her blessed and her husband will praise her.

All of her labors were to profit her family's well-being and their survival and all were done from the home.

As women, aware of our frailties and failings, it can be a daunting list of things that we aspire to. But, when they are broken down into smaller bites, it is a beautiful description of the journey of a woman's life that is a series of small steps into a character that is rich, fulfilled and praised.

Titus 2:3-5 are the verses most commonly referenced when discussing biblical womanhood and being a keeper at home.

"The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 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."

The words keepers at home from this passage are from the greek word oikouros which means: one who looks after domestic affairs with prudence and care.

I recently looked up the definition of the word blasphemy in the Noah Webster dictionary. It defines it as, "an indignity offered to God by words or writing; reproachful, contemptuous or irreverent words uttered impiously against Jehovah. It is that which derogates from the prerogatives of God."

I found this to be very humbling. If we learn to do other than what the Lord instructs us, we are in contempt against the Lord's will and His design for us as women.

I Timothy 2 holds other attributes of godly womanhood. Psalm 127 and 128 are favorites as well. Deuteronomy 6:4-7 is a good word to consider prayerfully.

Our Lord is so gentle in His leading, and he lovingly shapes us into His image a little at a time. Scriptures such as these are a road map, not dogma.

It is not safe to base our actions on just tiny portions of scripture. We must hold them up in the light of the whole Word of God to give them context. Throughout the scriptures, there are countless examples of marriages, the ministries of women in the home and community and the church. It is important to examine these principles in that context to truly see a picture of womanhood, and manhood for that matter, as God sees them.

Years ago, the Lord showed us the path "home", and the rewards have been such a blessing. In a society where women view the traditional roles of women as a burden or drudgery, I feel blessed to have found such delight and contentment in serving my Lord by serving my husband, by being with our children and coming to know them so well...I can truly say that we have had the blessing of our children’s friendship, and it is a precious gift.

Being keepers at home is a delightful and rewarding calling. It is our destiny, our heritage, our reason for living. We have been given a job of great importance, otherwise the Lord wouldn't have created the woman.

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