Watching Over the Affairs of our Homes

By Contributing Writer, Jennifer Ross

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 Timothy 5:14 where Paul says, among other things, that wives are to:

• guide the house KJV
• manage their households ESV
• manage their homes NIV
• rule the household  ASV

There is such beauty in this!  What an amazing task of dominion the LORD has given to us women!  What influence we have on those in our home, our neighborhood and our community!  This is pick.up.your.pom.poms.and.cheer kind of news!

 

What it means to Rule over our Households

According to one online Bible dictionary, that phrase literally means to rule our households or manage family affairs.   Now make no mistake, our husbands are still our leaders, the heads of our families; however, we play a vital role in the guarding of our families.  In this context of wifely duties, we, the ones being home the majority of the time, are to keep watch over all that goes on.

This would include what movies we watch, what music we listen to.  What movies we allow our children to watch, what music we allow our children to listen to.  Who we fellowship with, not in a witnessing/ministering sort of way, but in a close believer fellowship sort of way, and who we allow our children to develop close friendships with.

We should ever be watchful of what sorts of things we bring or allow into our homes.

 

“She looks well to the ways of her household…”  Proverbs 31:27

It is a tall order to always be looking well to the ways of our households!  It requires us to take dominion over what goes on in our home. 

And it requires us to be home.

The definition of “looks well?”  …To look out or about, spy, keep watch, observe, watch closely.  We recently went through our entire home, discarding items that did not glorify the LORD.  Movies and cds were the first to go. Those were easy to spot!  We were surprised that we even threw away a few Christian DVDs.  They were meant to teach and had good, godly information; however, the images used to present the material were far from godly, and we quickly put those few in the trash.

We also went through the toys our children have.  We threw away Disney princesses and a cute, sparkly coach that, according to the story, had once been a pumpkin but was magically transformed by a fairy god mother.  It wasn’t something any of our children played with often, and was actually found in a box of stored items.  Still, we found it necessary to destroy.

We threw away any toys that had mystical overtones or stories behind them.  Fairies, girls with wings, and yes… Disney princesses, as we couldn’t think of one that didn’t have magic as the power behind the success of the characters.

 

A Word about Discarding Methods

At the end of the week, we had quite a pile of inappropriate toys, books, etc that we wanted out of our home.  We burned everything.  You may be wondering, why not just give it away?  We felt that we should follow God’s example of ridding our home of ungodly items.  In the Old Testament when He sent His people to take over a land, His instructions were often, if not always, to burn any of the idols or heathen trinkets of the foreigners.

It didn’t seem right to put any of our “heathen trinkets” back into society to further deceive our community.

 

Throw your Pom-poms Down and Get Serious!

When it comes to protecting our home you can’t be too ruthless.  It’s time to roll up our sleeves!  We are gate-keepers, and our homes are our chief spheres of dominion and influence.  This is one of the many aspects of our roles as wives, mothers and “keepers of our homes.”  It’s a role we can’t afford to take lightly.

Guards need not be harsh and callous.  We can still be feminine in our watchdog duties.  Just as a beautiful white garden fence protects precious plants and flowers from being trampled and damaged, so are we to beautifully safeguard our homes and children.