Christian Working Wife, Balancing Between Job and Home
The question many Christian women ask is "Should a Christian wife work outside the home?". In a developing country like ours, many women never even think to ask that question because they really have to work, even if they don't want to. With the ever-increasing cost of living, education and basic commodities, many wives are expected to work to help augment their husband's income.
In Genesis 2:18, the wife is her husband's companion and helper; it doesn't mean that she cannot pursue the desires of her heart which include a career. However, she is expected to put God, her marriage and family first before all else. In raising the children, she is expected to be the teacher of discipline and good values, especially that of Christianity, and to be the executor of her husband's policies in their household, aside from keeping it physically clean and making sure that there is food on the table. And so, is it good that she pursue a career outside her home?
I believe that it is important for a husband and wife to agree if the wife should work or continue to work. That way, the responsibility does not only rest on the wife's shoulder but also the husband's. They've got to find a way to balance between work and home, both of them, alternating and helping one another to raise their children in the way they should go and helping one another to do the house chores as well. In the Philippines where we have helpers, husbands usually never bother about home chores and the wife is able to work because she has 'yaya' or nanny to take care of her children. But there is always the risk of their children having emotional problems because of the lack of love and attention from their own parents. In America today, there are more and more children who raise themselves, according to Shelley Poston in her post "Should a Christian Wife Work Outside of the Home?" (http://www.carm.org/). She added that Christian marriages are falling apart at the same rate as those who are unbelievers.
And so what is the conclusion? To me, if it is possible that a wife should stay at home, even until the children have grown enough that good values are already in them, this is a good thing. I find many stay-at-home Mom-bloggers in the web and I salute them, because in the time they raise their kids, clean the house, cook, wait on their husbands, they are able to express themselves through their blogs and earn at the same time. But if the circumstances demand that a wife should work, both husband and wife should agree that they will both be responsible for raising their kids and keeping their household and relationship in order. The wife is no Super Woman; the world should not expect her to carry all the responsibility. However, it is also good to remind her that God, marriage and family should be her first love and priority and her need for approval should come from them, and not from her work outside her home.
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