Paul wrote to Titus:

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled (Titus 2:3–5).

How are we to apply Paul’s words about working at home? His admonition has been the course of much controversy. Many believe that it is stepping outside of biblical bounds for a married woman to have any sort of job outside the home. In fact, until the past few decades, the femininity of women with strong business skills was suspect, and women who used these skills in the marketplace were viewed with disapproval or pity—not just within the Christian community but in much of society as well. But Scripture paints a different picture. The Proverbs 31 wife performs a good bit of her work outside the home. We are told that she seeks wool and flax (v. 13) and that “she brings her food from afar” (v. 14). This woman also “considers a field and buys it” and “with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard” (v. 16). Not only did this woman work, but she did so to provide for her family and others.

However, let’s be sure to note the context in which the Proverbs wife--a mother with children to raise--exercised her business skills. She exercised these skills for the greater good of others, most especially for her family. Nowhere in this passage of Proverbs do we find anything about achieving personal goals or maximizing potential. We learn from her that exercising business skills and maintaining biblical femininity can indeed go hand-in-hand. It all depends on our reasons for putting these skills to use. Women today struggle with this, as they do in every area of life, because the culture appeals to our sin nature, tempting us to believe the lie that if we live like the Bible says, we’re getting ripped off.

Many of us must go out and earn a living, and, if that is how God has structured our life, he does not want us to hate it or find it drudgery (although life in a fallen world will mean that we will all experience seasons of battling that very thing). Working outside the home is necessary for many women, and when that is the case, we can be sure that our good God delights to place us in a sphere of work that we are uniquely suited to do. This is true for single women who, by virtue of their singleness, are usually called by God to work in the business arena.

Even though Paul wrote in his letter to Titus that women should work in the home, he labored alongside women such as Lydia—a businesswoman. So in order to correctly apply Paul’s words here in Titus, we must consider the context of his comments. Paul was referring to women who were supported by husbands and raising children. If we are being financially supported by our husband and have children to raise, and yet we are considering going to work, Paul’s words can serve as a siren to examine our motives:

Are we seeking the good of others?

Are we seeking God’s glory?

Will it benefit our family if we take a job or just us? We can let these questions guide our choices.

These can be tricky questions for many women, because it is easy in our culture to confuse financial need with financial want. The Western woman's need list looks much different from women elsewhere in the world. Society tells us that we are failures if we don’t maximize our potential, or if we make sacrifices for the benefit of our families. But Paul wrote, “… if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim. 6:8).

(Updated post from February 2007).

Labels: female character