Stay at Home Mom vs Working Mom
God created us to work. Working has value and it gives us a sense of accomplishment. The choice about whether to be a full-time stay at home mum or work outside of the home is one that has confronted women for centuries. In today’s video, you will learn how to prayerfully discuss this topic in a realistic way so that you can make the right decision that is in line with God’s will for your marriage.
The decision of whether you want to pursue a career or be a stay-at-home mum will impact your life, your marriage, and your children. Some factors that would influence your decision are where you are financially as a couple, how God is leading you, and the importance of using your education and potential in the workplace as well as the desire to do something that is mentally and financially rewarding.
Working outside of the home involves making sacrifices for your family, out of love. However, you must prioritise your family and evaluate the quality and quantity of time you would like to spend with your children, to ensure they are well nurtured and trained. In Titus Chapter 2, the older women are instructed to teach the younger women:
To love their husbands, to love their children, to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to yield to their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.
So, as a career woman, it is important that your home is running smoothly.
At different times in your marriage, the demand of a full-time job could impact how much time you have left to care for your family. You will need to consider what is most important and be flexible to adapt to the change in circumstances. You must understand that your identity and self-worth come from God and not from your job; this will help you to easily make this transition when the time comes.
If you become a stay-at-home mom without being happy with the decision, you could feel resentful and unhappy, especially when you are able to combine working outside of the home with fulfilling your responsibilities as a wife and mother. This is not good for your emotional and mental well-being. If you decide to be a full-time stay-at-home mom, does your spouse have a job that will take care of both of you? Is he financially strong to shoulder all your responsibilities and those of your children? Is he willing to be the sole provider, and will he do this joyfully? These are some of the questions you need to discuss.
If you are a stay-at-home mom, there are so many things you can do that will bestow on you a sense of dignity and fulfilment, while having the time to give love and attention to your children daily from deepening your prayer life to sharing the love of Christ with your kids and learning different skills that will enable you make a difference to your world. Let’s look at the Proverbs 31 Woman. I must confess that I have never tried to become the Mrs. Proverbs Thirty-One Woman, because I can never meet up to her standard even if I try hard, so I will advise you not to try to become the totality of this woman of noble character; however, we can learn a lot from how she balanced her work outside of the home with caring and nurturing her family. Read this:
“She is happy to work with her own hands to make clothes with wool and linen. She brings special food from far away, like a ship that travels across the sea. She gets up while it is still night, and she prepares food for her family. She also gives some to her female servants. She looks carefully at a field, and she decides to buy it. She uses her own money to plant a vineyard. She is strong and she always works hard. She knows how to make money as she buys and sells things. Even at night, she is still working.
The Proverbs 31 woman demonstrated that you could combine being a homemaker with utilising your God-given gifts and talents to add value to your family financially. Don’t give up your commitment to excellence or your work ethics because you are a stay-at-home mum. Be creative and make use of your education and all the training that you’ve had.
"She knows how to make cloth. She gives money to poor and helpless people. All her family have warm clothes to wear. She is not afraid when cold weather comes. She makes beautiful cloths to cover the beds. Her own clothes are made with valuable linen and purple cloth. People in the city respect her husband. He meets with the other leaders at the city's gate. She uses linen to make clothes and she sells them. She makes belts to sell to the traders. She shows her strength and people respect her. She is not afraid of what will happen in the future.”
In conclusion, by discussing this topic, you will be able to agree the best decision that will enable you to have a rewarding career, a healthy and fulfilled marriage where your children are taught in the way of the Lord.
God Bless you!