Can married women work?

[SeekingGloryOnThisJourney]

Titus 2:4-5
“ so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home...”

This could be similar to the jewelry issue, where it doesn’t condemn it, but warns of the wrong motives.
Thoughts?

 

[crossnote]

Home-making is probably one of the toughest jobs going.

 

[GospelS]

13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night, provides food for her household, portions for maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31

 

[SeekingGloryOnThisJourney]

13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.
14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.
15 She rises while it is yet night, provides food for her household, portions for maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31

True, that came to my mind as well!
Although based on what I’ve seen, it’s difficult to run a household and have a career, but alas, it can be done.

 

[SeekingGloryOnThisJourney]

Home-making is probably one of the toughest jobs going.

Amen to that.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Titus 2:4-5
“ so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home...”

This could be similar to the jewelry issue, where it doesn’t condemn it, but warns of the wrong motives.
Thoughts?

Yes a married woman can work. The book of proverbs, describes the godly married woman in this way, not only does it praise her for her home making skills, but also her trading an merchandising skills:

Pro 31:16-18 She knows how to buy land and how to plant a vineyard, and she always works hard. She knows when to buy or sell, and she stays busy until late at night.

Pro 31:24 She makes clothes to sell to the shop owners.

So yes a godly woman, does work towards making an income for her family.

However it is not a requirement for a woman to work, as the curse of work was given to the man in Genesis. A woman is free to choose to work, or chose to stay at home and look after the family, it is up to them.

 

[SeekingGloryOnThisJourney]

Yes a married woman can work. The book of proverbs, describes the godly married woman in this way, not only does it praise her for her home making skills, but also her trading an merchandising skills:

Pro 31:16-18 She knows how to buy land and how to plant a vineyard, and she always works hard. She knows when to buy or sell, and she stays busy until late at night.

Pro 31:24 She makes clothes to sell to the shop owners.

So yes a godly woman, does work towards making an income for her family.

Thanks!
Scripture alone provides the best answers
y’know what the legalistic’s would say..

 

[Radagast]

True, that came to my mind as well!
Although based on what I’ve seen, it’s difficult to run a household and have a career, but alas, it can be done.

I think that Titus 2:4-5 and other passages tell us that it would be a great mistake to sacrifice one's husband and children on the altar of one's career.

But how to juggle the roles of "worker" and "wife" is really up to the individual woman.

Proverbs 31 describes home-based work, which interferes much less with one's role as a wife and mother than work outside the home.

Two other traditional solutions are (1) helping one's husband in his business and (2) careers which are very flexible in regards to working hours and part-time work.

 

[Sketcher]

Paul's letter to Titus repeats some concepts that he also wrote to other churches. We see some of that in 1 Timothy 5:11-4:

"But refuse to enroll younger widows, for when their passions draw them away from Christ, they desire to marry and so incur condemnation for having abandoned their former faith. Besides that, they learn to be idlers, going about from house to house, and not only idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying what they should not. So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander."

"Enrolling" meant getting her on the list of people the church was supposed to provide financial and other care for, like a deacon's ministry today will do. He didn't want to let the widows who were still young enough to marry and have children be supported by the church, because that would be enabling poor use of their time - going around town, spreading gossip. Marrying and having children would keep many of them too busy to do very much of that.

And we have 2 Thessalonians 3:6-12:

"Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living."

Paul preaching against busybodies again. He says to work instead of be a busybody.

Now, back over to Titus. Before you get to chapter 2, take a look at chapter 1, verses 11-12:
"They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.'"

How interesting, Paul is saying to rebuke someone who is spreading stereotypes about the people on Crete, which seemed true enough to distress people on Crete. One of them is "lazy glutton". Now, we come to the passage you asked about:

"and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled."

So we have a common thread of teaching against laziness/idleness. Housework was one antidote to that. Other work was another. I'm not seeing a reason here to teach against women having jobs, as long as the children are not being neglected. After all, either way, it's avoidance of idleness, and idleness is the great trap that encourages gossip and other problems.

 

[Endeavourer]

Proverbs 31 describes home-based work, which interferes much less with one's role as a wife and mother than work outside the home..

Actually this is not true. The Proverbs 31 woman was running the farm and the household, including merchanting its products, while the husband sat in the gates seeing after politics. Note that she purchased a field without consulting her husband in order to run the farm and the resulting enterprises.

Most who are patriarchal believe that it is the man's job to purchase and operate the farm (without consulting his wife on the operations), not the woman's job to purchase and operate the farm (without consulting her husband on the operations). Yet that turns Proverbs 31 on its head.

Further, Lydia and other women worked in the NT but Paul did not have a reprimand for their work.

 

[Hazelelponi]

True, that came to my mind as well!
Although based on what I’ve seen, it’s difficult to run a household and have a career, but alas, it can be done.

These days with all the modern conveniences a woman has time to raise her children and work outside the home if she desires to do so.

Many religious minded women work while their children are in school with no ill affect. So I see no reason if a woman wants to work why she can't these days.

Housework no longer involves washing clothes by hand, boiling bath water, cutting wood for heat, etc.

Things like being a elementary school teacher, paralegal or social worker are usually quite doable with a family these days.

 

[Rugged Cross]

Yes, women should work if they wish. After all, when girls leave school they are not automatically home makers etc, they go to work in various fields, waitresses, shop assistants, some higher education for wider careers such as a nurse or doctor. Many of the so-called democratic societies practically insist that both people in a relationship work, if not they could not survive financially. Women worked in the Bible, so really there is no difference in today's society.