A Mother's Job Description By Lorraine Curry We were about to pray for a family with five very young children. I couldn't help exclaiming, "She has the hardest job in the world!" I empathize with mothers of young children - I know from experience how difficult life can be with toddlers and a baby or two. As I thought of what I might have done differently with my own children, I continued, "But this young couple has the opportunity to start right in building godliness in their children!" With the challenge of parenting comes the opportunity to do the best for our children. By fulfilling our divinely appointed jobs as fathers and mothers, we can be God's tools that define and refine our children as they are sculpted into the Spirit controlled individuals that He wants them to be. Timothy gives us God's job description for mothers. He says, "I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." (I Timothy 5:14) Marrying and bearing children has already been or is being done. Now the real work begins! We need to fulfill the serious requirement of guiding the house in such a godly way that we give no cause for criticism. How do we do this? The Lord, as always, empowers us as we step out and obey His Word. God Will Guide Us As We Guide The House First of all God promises to guide us as we guide the house. "The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way." (Ps. 25:9) "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle" (Psalm 32:8,9) We see here that the requirement for receiving God's guidance for guiding the house is to be meek (patient, humble, gentle, easily imposed on, submissive) and teachable (willing to learn). If we haven't been meek or teachable, but stubborn as mules, we need to repent and pray for softened hearts to receive God's teaching and fulfill the job that he has given us. Whether or not we have chosen this position willingly or even like it, the Lord wants to bless us in it as we become willing and obedient. "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." (Is. 1:19) Go on in your own Bible and read what happens if we choose instead to refuse and rebel. God understands where we are
in our growth and has special guidance for each of us. He may
want some of us to get our houses in order by sorting and cleaning.
"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace"
(1 Cor. 14:33) Or perhaps He would have some of us forget our
chronic housecleaning and focus on spending time with Him! "But
one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which
shall not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:42) Is He telling
you to "do love" by making a special effort on a regular
basis for your husband and/or children? His priority for you
may be to learn discipline or unselfishness. The Lord's guidance
could even include getting rid of an idol such as a computer
or a TV! What is hindering you from guiding your house well?
Once you have heard from God about what He wants you to do, write it down. This is something we should begin praying about, because even more difficult than receiving God's teaching with a willing heart, is doing what He wants! "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Matt. 26:41) Being willing is far easier than being obedient, especially when it means that habits need changing. <A HREF="http://www.easyhomeschooling.com/goodgodlyhabits.html">Good and Godly Habits) Let's take our willing hearts to the cross and learn what the Lord desires of us as mothers. In this article we will focus on guiding the house. We will look at several definitions for the noun "guide" and the verb "to guide" in order to find out what our position requires. The Greek dictionary defines the word "guide" as used in our key verse. It means "to be the head of (or rule) a family". But before we can rule our children well we must look to ourselves. Modeling A guide is "one who serves as a model for others, as in a course of conduct." Our children will be like us whether we want them to or not! Beyond their God given personalities and without divine intervention, who our children are and will become is who we are and are becoming! Do we really want our children to be just like us? We cannot postpone getting ourselves right with God in every way. Attitudes and actions that we dislike in ourselves will show up in our children. They may even verbalize what we have merely modeled over the years! One of the definitions for "to guide" is "to exert control or influence over" and this is exactly what modeling does. So then, our first job responsibility is to commit to change. We must desire and decide to be conformed daily to and by the Word - to and by Jesus Christ. " by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom. 12:1,2) If we are committed to daily self-denial and conformity to God's will, we are ready to lead or rule our children. Leading A guide is also "one who shows the way by leading, directing, or advising." Whether we lead, direct or advise our children depends largely on their age. Very young children need to be lead in Godly ways. They will not be able to take direction as well as an older child and will not be able to comprehend advice as a young adult would. These little lambs need gentle shepherding - at least as much showing as telling. Consistent but gentle (never angry) discipline will also be necessary. (Not being consistent usually opens the door to to anger.) This may be a stressful time, especially if you have more than one child. If you are in the midst of "leading" very young children, consider: 1. You must not think that this
time will last forever - actually when you get through it, you
will marvel at how quickly it went. A mother's training at this time is to learn unselfishness. Our entire mothering experience will go smoothly and give good results, if we are quick in learning this. And training our children at this most difficult time will make the next level of guiding so much easier! Directing As our children mature, more directing and less showing will be possible. A guide "directs the course of, steers, shows direction, serves as an indicator, acts to regulate a motion or operation, or marks the point of pivot - as a soldier who is a guide." The regulating of this stage reminds me of Rachel, the Quaker mother, who is described in the following passage from Uncle Tom's Cabin: Rachel moved gently and quietly about, making biscuits, cutting up chicken, and diffusing a sort of sunny radiance over the whole proceeding generally. If there was any danger of friction or collision from the ill-regulated zeal of so many young operators, her gentle 'Come, come!' or 'I wouldn't, now,' was quite sufficient to allay the difficulty. If we did our job in leading, a child at this age will know how to do what needs to be done but now will need to be gently directed toward doing it. Advising Then as our children become even more mature we will be acting as counselors to them. We will be giving them advice and they will be able to comprehend our advice and discern the logic and wisdom in it. We will be able to reason with them. After all they have had a good foundation as we, together with our husbands, have lead and directed them in God's ways! Educating The above stages of guiding -leading,
directing, advising- can also be applied to educating. To guide
also means "to give information about points of interest
encountered" or "to supervise the training or education
of." Educating (defined here as imparting general knowledge)
is last on the list in guiding the house. This is its proper
position. Can we fulfill our job requirements? Yes! We "can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth" us. (Phil. 4:13) "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." (Zech. 4:6) "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thess. 5:17) "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:13,14) Lorraine Curry is the author of 5 Star Easy Homeschooling books. See and link to more articles, FREE copywork, subscriptions, ebooks and more at http://www.easyhomeschooling.com | Articles may be republished freely. However we ask that you include the following and a link to our site with the article. Lorraine Curry is the author of 5 Star, Easy Homeschooling Techniques and Easy Homeschooling Companion. See more articles, FREE copywork, subscriptions, ebooks and more at http://www.easyhomeschooling.com We prefer you use the linking code at top of page in your page's html source. God's Gardener Easy Homeschooling PO Box 95 Boelus NE 68820 308.996.4497 Fax: 308.996.9104 Contact Us FREE Shipping Secure Shopping 12 Month Guarantee Prov. 31:28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed. Can we fulfill our job requirements? YES!We can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us. (Phil. 4:13) Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts. (Zech. 4:6) Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:17) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:13,14)
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