Priority #4: Your Home

an excerpt from Juggling Life's Responsibilities: Biblical Help for the Married Woman, by Anne Elliott

I will never forget the day I discovered that making my home pretty was part of the will of God for my life! With the dishes stacked high in the sink and on every available kitchen surface, with unfolded laundry piled on the living room floor, with toys scattered upstairs and down, and with overdue bills waiting to be paid, I turned in desperation to the Word of God. I searched for every Scripture passage that spoke about a wife’s responsibilities, and I made a list that covered the front and back of a piece of notebook paper. What I read made me tremble! I realized all my dreams for my life hinged upon my success as a homemaker, for my very reputation was at stake. I determined to make a change and, grabbing a piece of scotch tape, I hung my list on the kitchen cabinet over the sink. I plunged into the dishes and attacked stuck-on grime as I read the verses I had written. Halfway through, I turned the sheet around and read the other side of my list. Later, as my kitchen shone with cleanliness, I realized not only was my reputation at stake, but my joy and happiness were as well. My great discovery was that…

“The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish pulls it down with her hands" (Proverbs 14:1).

Evidently, I’m not the only woman who has recently made this discovery. As I browse through a popular Christian bookseller’s catalog, I see scores of books and tools designed to bring women to the realization that a skillful housewife is a needed commodity. Christian women worldwide are heeding the call of Titus 2 and training the younger women around them to be “homemakers” (Titus 2:3-5). A lucrative business awaits those who are savvy enough to take heed to this trend and add training materials, tools and seminars to the market. Multi-year curriculum have been published that help mothers train their daughters in the skills of the home. There are obviously many talented women who excel in homemaking!

I’m not one of them, but I have a strong desire to become one. The Bible teaches that “an excellent wife is the crown of her husband” (Proverbs 12:4). I don’t know about you, but that appeals to me! Scripture also very clearly teaches that keeping a home is the primary responsibility of the wife (1 Timothy 5:14).

God has also been gracious enough to outline some of the duties of an excellent wife in the well-known poetry of Proverbs 31. If you, like me, desire improvement in this area, maybe you should read this portion of Scripture, then grab a piece of notebook paper and some scotch tape and display your own list of qualities that you’d like to see in your life. You will find that this list is immensely practical, for an excellent wife is:

• A hard worker
• Enterprising
• Diligent
• Wise with her money
• Healthy
• Conscious of the future
• Skillful in her home
• Kind and hospitable
• Careful about her appearance

If God can change my heart in this area, what can He do in yours?

>> Learn more about managing your home

>> Read about priority #5