The Christian Working Woman
by Ameerah Lewis
(Ohio, USA)
As a Christian working woman, I have often struggled with the question of whether or not it was okay for me to work. I would watch other Christian women who stayed home, and I felt so much guilt and shame for not following their example.
In my case, I was not working because I had a lack of desire to stay home, but because of a lack of finances. Of course, since my husband and I didn't have any children yet, the desire was not as strong as it would be if I were a working mother.
But, what about when we did start our family - What then?
Would it be acceptable if I continued to work to help support our family once our children were born? I believed in God's divine provision, but I felt forced to work in order for our family to be financially stable in today's economy.
My question was one that can be cause for much debate: Should Christian women work?
I've personally met women from both sides who were filled with guilt either way. If they worked, they felt like they should stay home to care for their families. If they stayed home, they felt like they weren't making an impact on the world around them, and that they should be out working. (I could write an entire book on how nurturing a family makes a dynamic impact on the world around us, but I will save that for a future article).
What God began revealing to me through watching other Christian working women was something I had never stopped to think about. Whether I should work outside of the home or not was not a matter of principle, but a matter of heart and purpose.
Why was I working?
Was I working out of fear that our finances would fall apart, or because of my faith that God had put me in my position for a reason?
Was I just doing it for a since of purpose in my life, or because I knew that God had given me purpose, and I believed that my job was part of it?
In today's society we can fall into the trap of believing that what we do for a living and the money that we make defines who we are as a person. When people begin introducing themselves to one another, one of the first things they say is their occupation.
But as God's children, it is who we are in Christ that defines us - Not a job title or a bank account.
Is it okay to be a Christian working woman?
Well, in God's description of the ideal woman, Proverbs 31, the virtuous woman worked. She made fine clothing and sold them in the marketplace (Proverbs 31:24). But, the key was that she did not forsake her higher duties of serving and caring for her family due to the demands of her outside job.
I think that is where many Christian working women have begun to fall short. By the time we get home from work, if we are all honest, we are usually pretty much spent! What do we have left over to offer our families, those that God Himself has given to us to serve and love?
That is where we truly have to call on God's grace and His power to be our strength when we have little left to give.
I think that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that God's plan and purpose for each of us is different. Even the part of our own plan revealed to us changes depending on the season of our lives we are in. But, regardless of God's plan or life's season, He always gives us the grace to fulfill our part of His will.
If it is His will, the finances don’t matter.
When it is His will, the time constraints don’t matter.
It is only when we are trying to do our own will that we run into problems.
Looking at my own decision to work outside of the home, I had to stop and ask myself: Had I consulted God about it? Was I just going along doing what I thought was right in my own mind without seeking His perfect will for my life?
It was not the fact that I was a Christian woman working outside of her home that bothered God - It was the fact that I had never stopped to ask Him about it.
Regardless of whether we are Christian working women or stay at home moms, our first priority can still be God's divine plan. He has one for each of us, and I am excited about living out the one He has for me!
