Working mothers

Is it against God's plan for mothers to work outside the home? I am the mother of two children. I have been financially supporting our family since we have been married. My husband now has a pretty good job but makes about half of what I do. I always felt like God wanted me to stay home and take care of our children; however, I have never been able to do this. Is it okay for moms to work?

Neither you nor I will be able to find a Scripture passage that explicitly forbids mothers from working outside the home.  This is an area of Christian freedom and one in which a person’s conscience enters the picture as far as decision making is concerned.

What I can do is list some questions for you and your husband to consider.  My purpose in putting these questions in front of you is not to steer you to any particular course of action but to help you answer the question:  “Is it okay for moms to work?”

So, in regard to your employment and your husband’s employment, is materialism an issue?   Is income from your job needed or wanted?  Is your income a matter of sustaining a standard of living you have become accustomed to but is not necessary?  Are current and/or future family expenses driving your decision (e.g., children’s educational costs)?  How does your work impact your responsibilities as a mother and a wife?  Do you think it’s wrong for you to work outside the home?

The answers to those first five questions are important, but the answer to the last question is vitally important.  Scripture explains (Romans 14) that if we set up a law in our mind, even if God has not, we need to follow that course of action.  In this case, if a mom were to think that it is wrong to work outside the home, that person needs to follow the leading of her conscience.

Then again, another Christian could explain to that mom that there is no explicit scriptural prohibition of her working outside the home.  The mom’s thinking could then change, and the law she had established about outside employment would disappear—enabling her to do in good conscience what she had previously thought was wrong.

So, this is really is a matter for you and your husband to discuss, and for you to sort things out with your scripturally-tethered conscience.  In all things we want to act with sure conviction, not in doubt (Romans 14).

I do commend you for being sensitive to your conscience and desirous of doing what God says in his Word.  God bless your discussions—and your family.