Godly Housewife

The godly housewife ministers to the needs of her family: sacred and secular. She looks after their spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical welfare. No one can replace her in the home. On the other hand, a secretary, accountant, lawyer, or other job can be done by any qualified woman. No one is irreplaceable. But a godly housewife is irreplaceable.

I worked for many years when I was unmarried to financially support myself. And I went to law school because I was unmarried. But every job I held could have been done by any man or woman who was qualified. I was not irreplaceable.

But godly mothers and housewives are irreplaceable in our homes. Unfortunately, this home ministry has been ridiculed and abandoned by many women. Feminists and other liberals look upon the duties, cares, and responsibilities of housewifery as irksome, disagreeable, confining, and degrading. And they show open contempt for those who choose to build a godly home instead of going out into the workforce.

Today, if a young girl said she would like to be a housewife when she grows up, she would be ridiculed. Of course, every girl should get a good education to earn her own living while she is unmarried, in case of the death of her husband, an emergency, when the children leave home, and so forth.

Sadly, mothers have abandoned their homes in favor of “careers” – outside jobs. And our nation has suffered. The real destinies of a nation rest in the hands of the home ministry of women who are dedicated to being godly housewives.

The family – a husband, wife, and children - is an ordinance of God. And the home is a divine institution of the first importance for the welfare of mankind. There is a natural longing in the heart of every man, woman, and child to have a loving home.

In poverty and plenty, in sorrow and joy, in defeat and victory, in sickness and health, in foul and sunny weather, the home is alike the blessed retreat and welcoming inn of every human traveler through life all along the journey.
G.S. Weaver, The Heart of the World: Or, Home and Its Wide Work (Chicago: Elder Publishing Company, 1883), p. 18.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112063062514;view=1up;seq=17

Home is a place where families gather to reverently celebrate holy days: Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter.

And home is a place where family and friends gather to celebrate our nation’s history and heroes: July 4^th, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and other national holidays.

And home is a place to show love and affection for family with festivities for birthdays, anniversaries, and other personal celebrations.

And home is a place for family worship: Bible study and lifting up our voices together in songs of praise to the Lord.

A true home is so cherished that it is immortalized in literature and music. For example, a poem by Fred Toothaker expresses that a home is more than a house…

A home is more than just a house,
it’s more than roof and walls;
It’s more than just a place to rest
whenever darkness falls.
A home, you’ll find, is more than all
the boards, the paint, the glass…
It’s where you find some happiness
and blessings come to pass.

A home is more than just a house
that’s built of brick and stone;
It’s more than structure beautiful
that man may call his own.
Indeed a home is more than laths
where plaster has been spread;
It’s where your plans are laid and where
the Bible’s always read.

A home is where there’s living,
It’s where your dreams come true;
It’s where the door I open wide
for friends to enter through.
Oh, yes, it’s where there’s fellowship,
where hope will never cease.
A home is more than just a house…
it’s where your soul’s at peace.

And home has been immortalized in song - secular and religious. There’s the beloved “Home, Sweet Home” written by John Howard Payne that brings many to tears with a longing for home.

Bing Crosby - Home Sweet Home - YouTube

▶ 3:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1noaFmDsnu0

Feb 6, 2013 - Uploaded by OnlyJazzHQ

Performer(s): « Bing Crosby » & « Victor Young » « Home Sweet Home » Audio : Very Hq - CD Quality Sound ...

As for religious songs, my grandfather’s favorite song was “Supper Time” by Ira Stanphill. It reminded him of his boyhood when his mother would open the door and call, “Clarence, come home. It’s supper time.”

SUPPER TIME by IRA STANPHILL - YouTube

▶ 2:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khNzjTiBS1A

Aug 18, 2017 - Uploaded by David Shook

davidshook.wixsite.com/davidshook SANG BY THE ONE WHO WROTE IT!

Indeed, the home on earth is to be a symbol of, and preparation for, our home in heaven. And what an honor that God put woman in charge of this great institution!

The well-being of society, the success of the church, the prosperity of the nation, depend upon home influences. Home is the first, greatest, and best of the institutions of society. In the New Testament, Paul writes to Titus about the serious responsibility of women in the home:

To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home,
good, obedient to their own husbands,
that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Titus 2:3-5

Paul writes that women are to be “keepers at home.” Being a keeper at home is more than housekeeping. God has entrusted women with a sacred responsibility to look after children’s wholesome physical development, wholesome mental development, wholesome emotional development, and wholesome spiritual development. To do this – and do it well – and also work outside the home full time is asking too much of women.

O, what a noble ministry for woman to give her children a healthy body, a sound mind, and a noble character!

And she is to look after the needs of her husband – a help meet (Genesis 2:18).

Being a keeper of the home is noble work. There is nothing in Scripture that says work outside the home is more important than work in the home. In the Bible, the typical woman is a wife and mother. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a typical wife and mother.

A well-managed household is honorable work, and the godly housewife runs her household to glorify God. She is industrious because the Bible condemns laziness. She busies herself with household affairs, takes pride in a well-run household, and practices thrift. She makes her home clean, tidy, comfortable, attractive and homey. She provides wholesome meals.

The godly housewife must not only keep the home running smoothly, the family fed properly and clothed attractively, but she must also have time left to be a true wife and mother. She must be a woman who can understandingly enter into all of the family’s activities, and provide them with companionship and love.

In Proverbs 31:10-31, we have a classic statement in praise of the virtues of the good wife. She is pure and modest, diligent and frugal, caring for her husband and children, prudent in her conversation, and instructs her children. Above all, she is conscientious in her duty to God: “A woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised” (v. 30). She furnishes her house well and has good clothing for herself and family. Since she has servants (v.15), she has a home industry of making fine linen to sell. With her earnings, she buys a field and plants a vineyard. The virtuous woman runs a well-managed household.

She looketh well to the ways of her household,
and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31:27

The virtues of the godly housewife are industry, wisdom, kindness and nobility. Put another way, the godly housewife builds her house.

Every wise woman buildeth her house:
but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
Proverbs 14:1

Under the wise management of a godly woman, the home will prosper financially and spiritually.

But under the bad management of a foolish woman, the home will suffer materially and morally.

Besides the practical duties of a housewife, the most important duty is the spiritual ministry of training children up in the way of righteousness. The man is the chief priest of the home; the woman is the priestess of her home. Godly mothers must dutifully awaken in their children a desire to study the Holy Book that God has given to teach us how to live in righteousness and holiness. Godly mothers must lead the young to love God, and lovingly obey His Word.

Women have a great opportunity to provide their children with a religious ancestry. Paul rejoices to Timothy that when Timothy was a little boy, he learned the Holy Scriptures from his mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5; 3:15). Timothy’s salvation was the result of faith passed on through three generations. Paul remembers and gives thanks for Timothy’s godly heritage…

O, that mothers would give their children a pious home education that will be passed on from generation to generation!

It is a mother’s sacred privilege to teach her children faithfully and diligently. Sadly, too many mothers neglect this most important duty of home ministry. Beginning in infancy, children must be taught the Word of God and how to apply it to their daily lives. No other book in the world has the power to nourish and inspire, to mold and to guide, the life of a child.

And children must be taught our rich Christian heritage of sacred hymns that will bring them joy and comfort from the cradle to the grave. Children should learn the beloved old hymns because they are an important part of our Christian heritage. The sacred old hymns lifted the hearts and spirits of Christians – young and old - throughout the ages. These beloved songs brought comfort and hope to the hearts of people in sickness and sorrow, doubt, danger, and anxiety. And they brought joy to the hearts of people in times of victory, praise, and celebration. And these beloved hymns will continue to do so for generations to come.

O, that mothers would teach the Creation through song – “All Things Bright and Beautiful”!

And mothers must pass down traditions. This includes preserving the traditions passed down from preceding generations: singing Christmas carols, reverently celebrating the Resurrection at Easter, giving thanks unto the Lord at Thanksgiving by singing the traditional hymns “We Gather Together,” “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” and other traditional celebrations of Christian holy days. These traditions lifted the hearts and spirits of countless Christians throughout the ages, and they are worthy of passing on to our children.

The godly housewife is a forgotten ministry. There can be no substitute for the woman in the home who shows love for her husband and children by devoting herself to their needs, and making home a place they will treasure in their hearts forever. Many will read this and openly sneer and call this old-fashioned. But deep down in their heart…they crave a cozy place to call home filled with sweet precious joys.

O, the blessings of a godly woman who strives to make home a place of love, comfort, guidance, peace, enjoyment and refreshment.

The wicked know the home is the foundation of the nation. And they know the homes of every nation are the surest guardians of her internal order and peace. And that is why the wicked are out to destroy the home: destroy the home…destroy America.

A woman who wants to “make a difference in the world” and neglects her home duties is misguided. By raising a healthy, happy family she is contributing to the welfare of the nation. There is no more important work for women than being the founder and guardian of the home.

As a nation we rise or fall as the character of our homes, presided over by woman, rises or falls.

The ministry of godly housewives preserves our homes…and preserves our Christian homeland.