If you have kids; then I'm sure that you have repeated yourself a few times. Then, you probably said something like, "How many times do I have to tell you?" I even have trouble when my wife tells me something. She will say, "I told you that yesterday!" To which I usually respond with, "Did you tell me more than once and slap me upside the head to get my attention?" That is about what it takes for me and I'm thinkin that I'm not alone.
This next verse in Titus (2:5) has some things in it that are repeated either right here in Titus or at least scattered throughtout scripture. It's like God knew we needed a good knock in the head before we would get it. The verse reads, "to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, ...(NIV)" In the first part the, KJV, uses the word "chaste" instead of "self-controled." But the Greek is still "Sophron" meaning a sound mind or in one's senses; and yes, we have seen this one many times in Titus alone. Then there are the simple ones like "pure" and "kind" which are peppered throughout scripture. Now, looking at the "be subject to their husbands"; well, that usually gets preached at least once a year, but usually from the passage found in Ephesians 5:22.
So I really don't want to focus on these because we have all been slapped upside the head with these. But I kinda got stuck on the phrase "to be busy at home." Could it be that the Bible says that women should not work outside of the home? Are all those christian women who work outside of the home disobeying the Bible? Maybe the Bible just isn't culturally current? Or maybe it is a statement meant only for that particular culture? Can the Greek be interpreted differently for a better understanding? Yes, my brain does rapid-fire questions like that. It's really annoying at times. So what's the deal here? Is there a Biblical issue with women working outside the home? If there is; then we better pay attention and make some serious changes. But if not; then we shouldn't be pulling out our personal soap boxes to preach against womens lib. No I didn't say that I agree with womens lib or disagree. The fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter what I have to say or any other person (or well meaning pastor). It matters what the Scriptures have to say; so we had all better be careful.
So here is what I have found:
There seems to be some confusion on the actual interpretation. It is either "oikourous" (keepers at home) or "oikourgous" (workers at home). I know it doesn't look like much, and, to be honest, it isn't much. If it is the second one; then it is important to realize that this is the only place in scripture that it is used. That alone should make us pause before taking any kind of hard stance on the subject. It isn't enough, however, for us to say, "well, it only said it once, so I don't need to pay attention to it." I know that if my kids fed me that line; it would not go well for them. We need to pay attention the first time (like I tell my kids), but we have to look at it in context. Most of what we see in this text is is along the lines of character traits and not so much a "to do" list. Paul talks about women in his book to Timothy as well. (1 Tim 5:13-14) He talks about a woman being idle at home. He does talk about the young woman keeping the house, but it is more of a remedy for idleness. In Proverbs 31:27 it mentions a woman looking after her household and "does not eat the bread of idleness." Back in Titus, this is one time I like the NIV translation. It says to be busy at home. There seems to be a heavy emphasis on avoiding idle hands. The purpose of the whole passage in Titus (and Timothy for that matter) is stated very clearly, "so that no one will malign the word of God" (NIV).
So is it okay Biblically for women to work outside of the home? Though I am very tempted to give my personal opinion; I digress. If we look at this passage for what it is trying to teach; then we have to say that this is not a message on the role of women, and we should not stretch it out to be one. Titus speaks to all of us to be careful how we represent the word of God.
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