Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: JMS111@psuvm.psu.edu (Jenni Sheehey) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Should a wife work outside the home? Message-ID: Date: 29 Oct 90 07:22:04 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Penn State University Lines: 72 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article gross@dg-rtp.dg.com (Gene Gross) writes: >Is there Biblical reason to believe that a woman should not work outside >the home? Hm. I don't have a lot of scriptural evidence to offer, but I *have* done a lot of thinking about it (seeing as it's bound to be important to me someday... I hope! =) ). There are many angles that one can look at this from. (from which one can look at this?) Anyway, the first one has been mentioned by others already - there is nothing denigrating about having a great influence on members of the next generation, nor is there anything wrong with serving your husband by cooking/cleaning/managing finances/whatever. We are *all* called to be servants, and this is but one way to do so. This brings me to another point... If it is indeed difficult or unpleasant to stay at home (and from what I've seen, this is only true if you expect it to be and not always even then) then hasn't God given women a blessing by making that our customary occupation? We are given a daily opportunity to serve Him, in a way that men seldom are able. (And, no, I am *not* advocating the "lie still, close your eyes, and think of England" method of marital relations in any way shape or form. We should *always* go about our business, pleasant or unpleasant, in gladness because God is giving us ways to serve Him - not determined resignation!). And as is the case whenever God gives us work to do, we could be gladdened by His confidence in our abilities, because He knows more about us than we do. Another point is daycare. While I think daycare may sometimes be good and useful, few daycare centers include examples of Christian living, or daily walks with Christ as a part of their usual activities. Obviously, these are some of the most important things we can share with our children. Also, it is my personal opinion that daycare could be harmful in a way that hasn't been researched yet, and this has a special significance for Christians. I think that it is quite possible that children raised in daycare will be more different from their parents than children raised at home. This would probably not cause many problems while the child was young, but when the child became, say, a teenager, and was experimenting with new autonomy... well, I'm sure you can see why having a very different value system from the people who were enforcing the rules would be a potential problem. All of this is not to say that Christian women should be *forced* to do anything. If God doesn't force people to do things, then it is very presumptuous of men to do so. And I'm sure that many married women are called to do work outside of the home. But I would really ask women whether they are working outside of the home for the glory of God, or for the glory of themselves. (Really! I'm not saying that all, or even most, women who work outside the home are doing so for selfish reasons! I'm just asking you to pray about it, I'm not judging!) Also, *please* do not judge the women who stay at home! I have gotten more flak from people because I am *contemplating* staying at home once my children are born, than I have ever heard women get for working. (I'm sure that that's just because I'm too young to remember the 60's though. But then so are the people I talk to.) God calls us to work for Him in many ways. In this, as in all things, we need only make sure that we are doing His will, not our own. It seems useless to make a "rule" about this. How can I determine whether God wants another woman to work outside the home? Since it is not explicitly forbidden... --Jenni /-------------------------------------\ ******************************** | JMS111@PSUVM - Bitnet | * Show me thy ways, O LORD; * | JMS111@PSUVM.psu.edu - Internet | * teach me thy paths. * | These opinions are not the property | * * | or responsibility of Penn State or | * Psalm 25:4 * | the Center for Academic Computing. | * * \-------------------------------------/ ********************************