Biblical Womanhood

So, something that has recently compelled me and inspired me to take an honest look at my role as a wife and mother is from the blog Girl Talk @ http://www.girltalkhome.com/. Before reading, I was guilty of wanting a 50/50 partnership in the home. If I do the dishes, shouldn't Greg help with something else?? I found myself often getting bitter at his time playing fantasy baseball while I cleaned or did the laundry. The truth that has been made evident to me is that Greg is not MY helper.The blog postings have dramatically changed my outlook and I couldn't do it justice by simply summarizing its points. So, here are some thoughts from the blog for you to consider. I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject as it continues to be a learning subject for me.
I know I attached a lot, but I couldn't just choose a paragraph.


“Honestly, I still struggle in my role as wife and mother though I’ve lived in it for ten years now. So when I read Carolyn’s take on the Today Show a few days ago and the new book about sharing the home responsibilities 50/50, I just had a question, or maybe, a dilemma. I stay at home full time, homeschooling my four children and I do love it. I wouldn’t want to work outside the home even if it was offered to me. But does that really mean that the husband has NO share in the household duties? Does that really mean that he should never wash some dishes, put laundry away, bathe a child, or pick up his own socks? I mean, if stuff needs to be done, should my husband be able to surf the web or watch a game while I tidy up after dinner and get the kids in bed? I guess I’m truly wondering if this is what It means to be a biblical woman? I WANT to be. I want to do my duties without grumbling and complaining. But it’s hard. It’s easy to feel like the maid. So, any words of wisdom in helping me to see this issue clearly and biblically, would be great.”
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Who does what in the home matters! God has given husbands and wives unique roles that he wants us to joyfully fulfill. This truth is under intense attack from our worldly culture. So we must carefully consider God's Word and strive to apply it in the nitty-gritty of daily life. Of course there is not a one-size-fits-all method for application but there is one mandate for all. It will look different from home to home, but the principle is fixed. We must seek to avoid two opposite errors:
Error #1: We expect our husband to be our helper.
Scripture is clear that the wife is to help the husband; he is not her assistant (Gen 2:18). The wife is the home manager (1 Tim 5:14); the husband does not share equally in this responsibility.
So how do we avoid this error?As women, we must first cultivate a biblical conviction about our role in the home. Then, together with our husbands, we must ask some hard questions: -Am I fulfilling my God-given role to manage my home?-Do I think of myself (and therefore act) as my husband’s helper, or do I think of him as my assistant? -Have I allowed laziness, selfishness or anxiety to become excuses for not fulfilling my role in the home? -Do I take advantage of my husband’s servant’s attitude to the point where he has too much responsibility in the home?-Does my husband’s help in the home hinder him from providing, leading, or serving in the ways that God has called him? -What (if anything) needs to change so that I am fulfilling the role God has assigned to me?
These are hard questions about a hard job. But God is faithful to provide all the grace we need to fulfill the task to which He has called us. We need God’s help to avoid the second error as well:
Error #2: We are resentful when our husband doesn’t help at all.
Laziness is never excusable. Because this is a blog for women, however, we won’t address the husband’s sin at length; but suffice it to say, Scripture has some rather scary things to say about the man (or woman) who does not work hard, or worse yet, a husband who refuses to provide for his family (Prov. 12:24, 27, 19:15, 1 Tim. 5:18).
If we honestly believe we our fulfilling our role as home manager, but our husband is lazy and unwilling to serve in the home when needed, what should we do? Here are a few cursory thoughts:
1. Stop looking at our husband. His laziness may be a genuine trial, but it should not be the determiner of our joy. If we are resentful or dissatisfied, that comes from the sin in our own hearts. It can reveal that we are not serving “as unto the Lord.” Our call to homemaking is from God and so is our reward. Because of this truth, we can have a joy in homemaking that is out of the reach of our husband’s behavior.