Is It Okay For Christian Moms To Work Outside the Home?

Is It Okay for a Christian mom to work outside the home?

You would think we would be done with this question, but in the Christian mom blogger world, it has been a hot topic lately. At least four of the blogs that I follow have errupted into debates about a woman's role in marriage, motherhood, and work in the comment section. Some comments were very considerate and constructive, some were a little prideful, and some were outright rude, to the point where I question if the writer would say the same things if she were looking the other woman in the eye.

I know you have read this countless times before, but Tabitha's Team is literally a product of women cutting each other up on the internet. As this newly fueled debate feeds into my mission of women encouraging each other, I started working on a response. However, this is too big of an issue for one simple blog post. There is a lot more to consider than the short comments that have been used and overused in this debate.

So what I ended up with is a series.

Starting Monday, July 5th, my blog will feature a series on The Working Mom Question. However, the first thing I need to do is rephrase the question.

Did you see the movie iRobot? As Will Smith is investigating a murder, he must ask questions to the computer-programmed hologram left behind by the victim. The hologram repeatedly tells him, "My responses are limited. You must ask the right questions."

You may not have seen that movie, but here is another. I think most of us are familiar with the line from My Cousin Vinnie, "That's a bogus question. No one can answer it."

(Yes, we watch a lot of movies at my house)

That is our situation. The answer to this question is not yes. The answer to this question is not no. The answer lies in another question:

Is it okay for you to work outside the home?

That's what we really want to know; and that is what we will be examining over the next couple of weeks:

• I am going to start with the perceptions and stereotypes that we often have when it comes to working moms and stay-at-home moms.
• Then, we will really "begin" with a look at motherhood and its value, as this is really at the heart of the debate.
• We will move on to look at Titus 2 and Proverbs 31, those verses that should have been written in bright red because of all of the heat they have caused.
• We will look at things you need to consider in making this decision; good reasons and bad reasons.
• We will examine what things look like from each mom's shoes and talk about what is really behind the jugements.
• I will highlight some examples of real moms I know and what they are doing.

I don't know how long this series will last; until we're done.

So, please come back and visit. I do want to hear your comments. Put me in your RSS or subscribe to the email feed so that you won't miss a day.

Tomorrow, I have a great book to introduce to you that is a great resource for healing from grief and depression. As we all know someone who is touched by this, you will want to know more about this book.

On Monday, we will dig into the right question: "Should you work outside the home?"

Related articles:
Womens Work - Run Your Race

Christian Women Teamwork - Who Is On Your Team?

Is Proverbs 31 Making You Crazy - 10 Things Not Found in Proverbs 31

Work-Life Balance: Is This a Good Thing?