Sunday Snippet: Housewives under Siege…

I know it is Mother’s Day and I should have some deep and meaningful post on motherhood but I read this article called : Housewives Under Siege and I thought I would put it out there as food for thought! It is opinionated but I don’t have a problem with that! It certainly gave me something to think about and could well do the same for you!

It is written by a friend of ours Dr. Chris Warton, a godly man who is the father of six brilliant grown-up kids and the husband of a lovely and multi-talented house-wife.

Basically the article states that in our culture housewives are the lowest of low career-wise and he questions why. He questions why housewives are the “nobodies” of our time. The first thing anyone asks when you are in a social context is “What do you do?” as if your job will define who you are, if you don’t have a real career then you are “just a housewife.” He writes from the perspective of “pro-housewives” and you just know from what he writes he thinks his wife is the greatest woman on earth. It is very encouraging to find someone that loves their wife enough to overstep the “cultural-norm” and express his own perspective. He is in no way disparaging woman who have careers but he is providing food for thought as to why our culture considers housewives to be the lowest form of life, even by other women.

As a Christian he claims that we should take this attack on the role of housewives very seriously, as it clearly undermines the heart of the home and therefore the values of the Christian family unit. If a woman in any job is constantly told that her job is of no significance and simply a waste of time, it will ultimately lead to poor job performance and failure.

He runs through the list of reasons of why women are not encouraged to be housewives and you have most likely heard them all, I certainly have! I love his responses to these arguments – I could have written a few of them myself!

I for one don’t find my job boring, even though I have studied for years at University, I am never ever bored at home. I have to use every inch of my mind and creativity on a minute by minute basis to get through any day – I never had to work this hard when I “really worked.” Without any home care training I would be a useless wife and mother I needed to be taught by older wiser women, just as Titus 2:4 suggests.

A lot of being a housewife is unglamorous – let’s face it, cleaning toilets isn’t anyone’s first choice of career, but that doesn’t make me an old drudge and I don’t know anyone who stays home and cares for their kids to be such – even though the media might paint us as such. The point is most of my work as a wife and a mother is all about serving others – not exactly a popular worldview(!) but it is a Christian view and attitude which I really hope to impart to my children. Children learn by example and by being there for our kids and by serving not only them but others I hope they will learn that that is the way to treat their fellow humans!

As for monotony, well how many jobs are one glorious adventure after another… even the most glamorous jobs involve paperwork and repetitive drudgery for a certain amount of time. I get to meet lots of wildly different and interesting people as a mum that I never would have met had I been at work in an office with the same couple of people day in and day out. Hopefully at the end of my life I will have a legacy of well-rounded kids to show for all my work as apposed to a couple of published papers in an academic journal!

He ends by addressing husbands of housewives: He reiterates that housewives are under a constant barrage of criticism and how husbands can encourage and uplift their wives with their positive feedback.

And he closes with an interesting comment:

Lastly, on a more personal level, perhaps we could change the way we talk. How about this for a comment on conversation with a colleague: “Oh, your wife is only a doctor. It must be hard for you. My wife is a housewife – a real woman. She couldn’t stand just going out to work. She needs the stimulation of a career where she can really expose and use her gifts and personality.”

Go ahead and read “Housewives Under Siege” – it really is food for thought!