Troublesome Topic: Can a Christian Mother Work Outside the Home?

God wants His priorities and principles to come first in our lives. Therefore, as long as a Christian woman is able to fulfill her God-given roles (to support and respect her husband and to nurture and teach the next generation), she should be free to work outside the home.

What Can She Do Without Violating the Biblical Principles?

If parents choose a mass education setting (public or private school) and are involved in making sure the children are getting the most out of their education, the mother should be free to get a job outside the home, preferably one that keeps her away from home only while the kids are at school.

When the children have finished high school and left for college or gotten jobs, the mom should be free to work outside the home. My wife started working outside our home about 1 month after she finished homeschooling our youngest child through 12^th grade. Before that God enabled us to survive financially on my fulltime income and my wife teaching piano lessons from our home.

 The dad does not have to always work outside the home; he can sometimes work from home. In ancient times the father was often working the family’s land or working with their flocks and herds, so he was around most of the time to show his sons how to carry on the family business. Likewise the mom was able to teach her daughters the same skills that her mom taught her. Today some people are also able to work from home, so once again it is sometimes possible for both mom and dad to be close in order to teach the children different sets of skills and abilities.

What Should She Not Do?

I think that having both parents working full time and paying a babysitter or a daycare to watch the children every day is probably outside of God’s plan for the family. I don’t consider it to be sin, but I neither do I consider it to be ideal. I understand that many couple find that having both parents working full time is their only option financially, but I believe that God honors us if we try to honor Him and His principles. We need to look at the entire picture, including our level of debt, our spending habits, and how much (or how little) time we have with our kids. There is often a way to make something happen if we are willing to sacrifice something for it. In reality, we always sacrifice something; it is either income or time with our kids.

As parents we should never put financial advancement ahead of raising our own kids. While we may say we are doing it for their sake, we are only hurting them if we do that. We should not think that trading time with our children for more income is a fair trade; it is not!

Likewise dad should not work so many hours that he is never around to guide, teach and influence his kids. This is just as wrong as anything the mom can do. Unfortunately, it is very common.

I said above that it is OK for the mom to work outside the home when it does not affect the children. Here I will add to that and say that it is OK as long as it does not affect the marriage. It is possible for the wife to give so much of herself to her work that she has nothing left to offer her husband. Nothing good will come from that situation.

The life of a single parent is very difficult. Often single parents with young children must have someone else watch the children for them when school is not in session and they are still at work.   Most single parents wish this were not the case, but they have no other choice. Don’t beat yourself up about this; God looks at the heart and knows you wish it could be different.

Is it OK for a Wife to Earn More Than Her Husband?

Sure. It is not about the numbers, but about God-given roles and His lines of authority. We should not get hung up on side issues like who is getting paid more.

What I am trying to say is that there are different ways to accomplish what God has established as principles for families. At the same time, we are never free to ignore what God said and do whatever we want to do. God expects us to be creative in solving our problems, while staying within His principles. Jesus said that we need to be “as prudent as snakes and as pure and sincere as doves” Matthew 10:16 . If we ask God to help us balance shrewdness and innocence in order to come closer to living by His standards, I am confident He will answer that prayer positively.

The next lesson is: What about Single, Divorced or Widowed Women Today?