Priorities of a Wife and Mom

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8 

My college had a “Women’s Studies” dormitory. As I walked into this dorm I saw a poster in the hallway. It was a fish riding a tricycle and it said, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”  That was the culture we lived in. Even after I became a Christian I remember one of the first things God convicted me about was the jokes that were being passed around promoting the “men are pigs” mentality.

I was raised in a generation that thought the women’s movement (or feminism) was very important. I had no idea how influenced I had become by the teaching that had subtly been woven into every area of my thinking.

A corporate job, or at least a career that was “mine” was the  only road to real happiness. I was led to believe that marriage and a family would be a stumbling block to all of my own dreams.

At the same time the desire to be married and have children was very real and I proceeded as if I could have both plans because that is what was taught. I look back now and see that in His grace, God has opened my eyes to truth and the peace I never knew when I was trying to be all things to all people.

Many women have to work to help provide for their families. Our economy is not family friendly. When a woman tries to make her job her priority she will not do well by her family. When she prioritizes her family, she has to accept that she may not advance at work as quickly as she might. When we look at the scriptures we also see that this leaves out two very important priorities according to God. That would be Himself and our husbands. (Mark 12:30 and Genesis 2:24)

The Biblical prescription for priorities for a wife and Mom would be:

1. God                                                                                                                                           2. Husband                                                                                                                                       3. Children                                                                                                                                          4. Church/Ministry                                                                                                                        5. Work outside the home

I know I lived many years where this was not the reality in my family.

Now, I know to check everything with scripture. He prompts me to wonder and then to search for answers, “Can this be right?” “Is this what’s best for my family?” He answers those questions. His Word addresses every decision we will ever face.

As Christians we have a great deal of freedom to make decisions about our families and our work. When we are in the center of God’s will we are in the place of greatest blessing. If we want to stay there, every decision needs to be compared to what His Word says.

I live with some regrets from those years when my priorities were out of line with scripture. I was more concerned about money and my own workplace success than I was my family or what I was doing for the Lord. I did not think to ask the Lord about these things at the time, things that have no “do-over” option.

Never does God promise that we “can have it all.” When a wife and mother takes on too much, something – or someone – suffers. When you and I compare our own priorities to the scripture, are they in the proper order?