Category Archives: Definitions

Know What's at the Gate

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This is the first year that my oldest son will be attending a public school. My husband and I educated him at home for preschool and the first two years of elementary school. I had relatives and friends who questioned the merit of our decision to home school. Because I took my job as a gatekeeper seriously, I didn’t let people’s opinions deter me from doing what I knew we were called to do. Now that he will be attending a public school, I still am not allowing people’s contrary opinions to deter me from putting my son where I know God would have him to be.

To be an effective gatekeeper, you must know how to keep the good in and the bad out.

Know the expectations—The Word of God tells us how to live. Therefore, set family goals based on the commands of scripture for husbands, wives, and children. Not only have individual goals, but create ones for the family to meet together. For example, to fulfill take care of the poor, twice a month the family could prepare and deliver a meal to a family in need (Psalms 82:3-4, Proverbs 31:9).

Pray and fast—You need spiritual insight to direct you through what you see and don’t see. There is always a war going on in the spiritual realm that we cannot see, but God sees and directs our steps (2 Kings 6:15-17; Ephesians 6:12 and Proverbs 16:9). There are also things that God will reveal to us in the natural through prayer and fasting. And then there are those issues we observe with our own eyes. Whatever is revealed or not revealed, we still need God to direct us so we guard the gate appropriately to defeat the enemy and protect our family.

Filter entertainment—What the world rates as acceptable family entertainment many times goes against goals a Christian family may have. For instance, my children can’t watch The Flintstones or Popeye because of the sexist (both) and objectifying (Popeye) behavior in them. Sponge Bob is off limits because it’s crude. And media with gratuitous sex, violence and bad language are off limits, not just for the children, but also for me and my husband. We had to avoid two constant household favorites—The Sopranos and Sex in the City—before their series ended. I still have to make sure not to linger too long at the video section at the library so I’m not tempted to rent what I missed (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Assess family and friends—There is a saying, “Everyone who’s blood is not relative.” As a gatekeeper, you need to know which relatives are relative to your spiritual growth and which are not. Based upon your family’s goals, you know what the limits are of interaction with certain family members. Maybe the family members that like to get drunk and talk trash start cutting loose at the end of the family gathering. Make sure you come early and leave around “pumpkin time.” As for friends, the ones challenging you to do opposite of what you know to be right should be eliminated or kept at a distance. To help your children in this area, make sure you interact with families who have similar goals for their children and expose them to activities with goals that meet, or at least don’t contradict, your family’s goals.

Choose solid spiritual connections—Attend a Bible-believing church and hook up with Christian groups that have similar interests (like a book club, sports league or quilting bee). These are great ways to stay encouraged and focused on your goals.

When you have a plan, you can fulfill the job of gatekeeper and lead your family to the best God has for them.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Benefits of Gatekeeping

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We all want a job with benefits, even though for many of us these days jobs with perks are a thing of the past. Not so with God. When He gives us a job, there are always benefits, maybe not ones we immediately think of as desirable but always those that will build up His kingdom. So it is with the job of gatekeeper. Even though it’s hard work, especially considering the need to have a panoramic view, being a gatekeeper honors God and benefits the woman herself, her family, other families, and the church at large.

• Guarding the home honors God. Jesus says in John 14:15: “If you love me keep my commandments” (Also see John 14:21). Keeping God’s commandments shows that we not only love Him, but also that God’s Word is worthy of honor, especially when others see the Bible’s positive impact on our lives (Titus 2:5).

• Guarding the home benefits women. Proverbs 14:1 says, “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.” In the wisdom of gatekeeping, a woman builds her house, starting with herself. She is not led astray by spiritual teachers who seek their own gain, but she can follow the Word of God for her life and impact her family (2 Tim. 3:1-7).

• Guarding the home benefits husbands. When a woman focuses on doing the right thing instead of commanding her husband to get himself together and even telling him how to do it, she wins him over (1 Peter 3:1-2, 6). By following her role of submission and not usurping her husband’s authority and telling him what to do, she allows her husband to learn from his mistakes, learn from her behavior and be inclined to believe God’s Word about his position of leadership (Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Peter 3:1-7).

• Guarding the home benefits children. When a woman understands the power of training her children in the way they should go, she will 1) instill God’s Word in them so they will always have a firm foundation (Proverbs 22:6) and 2) talk to and spank them when they stray so they will be wise and saved from destruction (Proverbs 29:15, 23:14-15).

• Guarding the home benefits other families. When a woman spends time keeping her house together, she doesn’t have time to meddle in other people’s business (1 Tim. 5:13).

• Guarding the home benefits the entire church. When each woman works as a gatekeeper to build up her house, all the homes in the body of Christ will be strengthened and all these families strengthen the church. The church, then, is better equipped to impact the nations for Jesus Christ and make the world (and eternity) a better place to live (Matthew 28:18-20).

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Three Eyes of Gatekeeping

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Many jobs these days require not just multitasking but multi-roles that employers have workers do to save on hiring more employees. Sometimes these roles aren’t even explained, just given, and this leaves workers frustrated and stressed. But God is a different kind of employer. When He gives us a job, we may have multi-roles, but He always gives us direction to fulfill our roles. Such is the case with the job of being a homemaker, more illustratively known as a gatekeeper.

As a gatekeeper, a woman has to be like the Old Testament temple gatekeepers who had a panoramic view of the temple. They were posted at all four corners of the temple to make sure that God’s house was protected from predators and provided for by those selected to serve the temple. A woman with a panoramic view sees all sides of her and her family’s life so they can be on guard from the enemy’s attack and use this knowledge to benefit God’s kingdom.

Women must have hindsight, access the present and anticipate what is needed for the future. This is having a panoramic view of all sides of life. Isaiah 58:12 talks about the result of someone who looks at the ruins of the present, sees how the past has impacted the present, and because she decided to fast, she helps to positively impact the future: “And [they that shall be] of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”

When a woman decides to take her job of gatekeeping seriously, she can repair brokenness, build up what was abandoned, and provide stable homes for many generations to come. She will be known by her works, being a wonderful example for many generations, who, too, will know how to be gatekeepers and help strengthen the kingdom of God.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Watch Your Body

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Sometimes I get overwhelmed when I think of my job as a keeper at home. This job is big enough for two or three women in one household. Of course I’m not advocating polygamy (though a hired housekeeper would be nice), but when I think about why this job is necessary, I recollect myself, call on God and know that He gives me nothing more than I can handle. I remember that being a keeper at home, or a homemaker, is a wonderful role and is required of all women, not just married ones who don’t work outside the home. Titus 2:5 says this job is for women to serve as the home’s gatekeeper to let in the good and keep out the bad so the family can meet its spiritual goals. If women do just this job, we would see a world of difference:

• Guard your ears. Women must guard what the family hears: “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly” (2 Tim. 2:16). This hearing includes any talk, whether one-on-one, from the television, radio, Internet and even from the pulpit. When family members hear not just godless talk, but talk that is vain (words that have no value to the hearer), they will desire to hear more ungodly and vain talk, which will impact what they say and what they want to see.
• Watch your mouths. Women must guard what the family says: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29). What you speak is often learned from what is heard and gets into your heart. Once the talk is in the heart, it eventually comes out. Mark 7:21-23 says, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
• Guard your eyes. Women must guard what the family sees. Matthew 6:22-23 tells us that when we look at healthy things, our entire bodies will be healthy. This makes me think about reading the Bible, Christian literature and other inspirational materials. These things positively impact my mind, empower my limbs and infuse my talk do duplicate good.

Without a doubt, what you hear, say and see impact the person you become and dictate your actions. Guarding these key areas will help shape your family and (one family at a time) the world to be who God has called us to be. I would love to hear from you some ways that you have guarded your family’s ears, mouths and eyes. I know your sharing that and even how you wish you had been more vigilant will be beneficial for all of us. I look forward to hearing from you.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Women as Gatekeepers

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When I enter some people’s homes, I just know that I can kick my shoes off, sit in their living room or eat a meal. Immediately I feel comfortable there because the home just oozes hospitality. This is due in large part to the women of these homes, who make it their business to provide comfort for their families and all who enter their doors. They know the traditional meaning of being a keeper of the home, but being a keeper goes beyond the physical and into the spiritual realm.

Remember that the phrase keeper at home comes from the root word meaning “a guard, be “ware,” and a key definition is the (watch or) keeper of the house. We get insight into this phrase when we consider the Old Testament role of the temple gatekeepers (1 Chronicles 9:23-32). These gatekeepers, or porters, guarded the temple gates on all four corners and cared for the treasures and ministering vessels in the temple. So their job was to protect from any opposing forces God’s physical building and the spiritual instruments inside the building that were dedicated for spiritual service. They also watched out for who should enter the temple. This is a great picture of what the woman of the house is supposed to do for her home.

The woman’s job is to guard the physical home and its members that have been called as spiritual instruments for God (whether they know it or not). Her job is to make sure that nothing enters the house that will be in opposition to the spiritual goals that the family has set. She is also in charge of making sure that what enters the home will help to further the family’s spiritual goals. What enters or is kept out the house affects the physical and spiritual aspects of the home. So if R-rated movies, violent video games and bad attitudes are against the family’s spiritual goals, they shouldn’t be in the house. And if crude people want to curse in your home, they shouldn’t be allowed either. As women, you must be vigilant. Protect your house from predators within and without to work toward a safe and comfortable home physically and spiritually.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith