Proverbs 31: 13. "She's Got Work to Do"

Proverbs 31: 13     She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.

Proverbs 31:13.  The American concept of a “stay at home mom” is fascinatingly unbiblical.  The Bible does not teach this idea--- at least not the way we generally interpret it in America.

The Biblical ideal is a woman who brings value to the family.  Yes, she is a woman who brings good, godly VALUES to the home; but right now I’m talking about how she brings personal, spiritual, emotional, and financial VALUE.
 

What the Bible depicts would be more accurately expressed by the phrase “WORK from home mom.” 

 

The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 is an entrepreneur, a shrewd negotiator, a manger of resources.  She’s a BOSS.   And she loves the role.

She has domestic skills, but she is not a mindless domestic.  She is comfortable in the sewing room and in the boardroom.     (Which, if you think about it, is a pretty good complement to the ideal man who can afford a Mercedes but also mows the yard and changes the oil.)

The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 works with her mind and with her hands  just as the man was doing when God made woman, back in Genesis chapter 2.    God’s design for husband and God’s design for wife are perfectly matched to bring value to their home.

The Bible does not exalt the image of a woman just “staying” at home  because she isn’t allowed to go anywhere or do anything.   Go back and read again Titus 2: 4, 5.  Older women are commanded to mentor younger women and to

… 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. (King James Version)

A “keeper,” not a stayer.  A “keeper” was a guardian, a protector, the commander of the gate, the inspector of goods, the first line of defense until the army could get there.  A boss. 

A wife’s job is to help her husband bring value to the home.   

Much love to those women who can do that from the home address.   But the value has to come in, even if you can’t “stay” at the house and get it.

(And that is the difference between a Biblical housewife and a cultural trophy wife.)

 

Sometimes a woman has to go beyond the home to get that value and bring it back.   She has to go bring it from afar. (Proverbs 31: 4)
But home is still homebase, still headquarters, still the place where she comes back to stand with her husband, pool what they have, and build something greater.

At least, that’s how the Bible puts it.

 

I’ve kept you long enough, sister.  Go on, girl.  You’ve got work to do.

--Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

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