Tag Archives: Domestic worker

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

Keep Your House

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Many times these days you may find me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen as I serve my family and prepare to bring another of God’s chosen into the world. Years ago you wouldn’t find me this way: I cooked out of my own necessity and didn’t care much if I got married or had children or not. And if God decided that I should marry and get pregnant, my attitude was “You will never find me in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant.” I mimicked the cliché that epitomized the oppression of women because for me liberation was shunning most appearances of taking on traditional women’s roles. In recent years, after really studying “to be keepers at home,” one command for women in Titus 2, I understand that being a keeper at home is much broader than cooking and cleaning; it’s a job of providing comfort and safety for your family and all who enter your home.

The phrase keeper at home comes from the root word meaning “a guard, be “ware.” The definitions that stem from that are “caring for the house, working at home: a) the (watch or) keeper of the house; b) keeping at home and taking care of household affairs; and c) a domestic.” So the questions become “What is it that women are called to watch or keep in the house?” “What are the household affairs that she is supposed to take care of?” “What is she to keep at home?” “What does it mean to be a domestic?”And “Why the use of house and home? Is there a difference?”

I think my stating that the job of a keeper at home means that women are providers of comfort and safety in the home gives us clues, but what does that definition really mean? You know I’ll flush all this out next time, Lord willing, but for now I want to hear from you. What is your view of domestic life? And now that you have biblical definitions of being a keeper at home, what are your thoughts about them? I’m looking forward to a lively discussion. Won’t you join in?

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith