“Do you work?”

Today’s culture tends to look down on women without a career, and full-time mothers are not included. However, this was the decision in our home. My husband has a good job and I stayed home to raise our children. So people ask, “Do you work?”

In the beginning, I never knew what to say, but felt somewhat defensive. The tone of the question seemed to indicate that if I didn’t, I wasn’t worth much. The question really bothered me.

Since those early days, I have learned the value of staying home to raise a family. Children need the presence of their parents. But I still get asked, sometimes in past tense. I feel no need to defend myself now, but still want to smack people for assuming that every woman goes to work outside the home. With that attitude, and depending on who offered the question, I’ve given various answers from, “You bet I do” to “No, I’m a kept woman.”

That is far too flippant. I should tell people that, by the grace of God, I was privileged to be at home when my family most needed me. I am also privileged to have much to keep me busy now, even though some have exclaimed, “How do you keep from being bored?” Boredom is seldom part of my life because my heavenly Father has plenty of work for anyone willing to jump in and do it.

Another reason that I should not be flippant is found in the verses that I read this morning. If I am obeying God, everything that I do is an incredible honor and my attitude should match the privilege of serving the Holy One who created me. The verses say:

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

As a child of God, I am called to love and serve Him. There is no higher calling, no more important employment. Scripture affirms how the things that I do in obedience to God will have a lasting impact and produce eternal results.

What employers can offer that? They may promise interesting or exciting work, fulfillment for each employee, good benefits and a large pay cheque, but none of them can say what I do in their employ will forever make a difference. Unless I give my heart and my efforts to God in wherever I am doing, it is merely a job.

That being said, I need to rethink how I respond to people who are curious about what I do or did. Instead of defending myself in my answer, I should be praising God. He allowed me to raise three children who are involved in the marketplace. I’ll never know what would have happened had they been left in the care of baby sitters or daycare, but our kids work hard, and are not moochers or bums or in jail. For that, I am thankful and I need to say so.

I also need to remember that those verses tell me to walk worthy of my calling as a Christian. That means I should be humble and patient, thinking more about others than myself. If I want to have a positive impact for God and eternity, that leaves out being a smart aleck.