Magnetic Poles said:
It was a far different society in that most were farmers and the women worked hard and so did the men. The wives helped their husbands on the farm. That is not just an 8 hour work day but a lifestyle. If you find a lazy farmer it will be noticeable.
Prov. 31 talks about the woman who buys a field and plants it. She rises while it is still night to provide for her family. She sells the things she makes. People who work hard have something to give to those in need. The problem occurs when people are selfish.
My grandmother died in 2004 at the age of 97 and when she married my grandfather she worked in a restaurant and he worked in the fields. They bought a farm by the money they saved. They worked the farm together. She drove tractors and trucks just like he did. She milked the cows just like he did. All of their kids worked on the farm too. When I was a kid all of us worked outside and inside. I learned how to cook and sew. When I got to college I knew how to make bread, cakes and pies, etc. I knew how to wash and iron my own clothes. In fact I was put in charge of the meal for a Christian group I was a part of. We were going to have a Valentrine's Day banquet and I sugegsted that the men cooked the meal for the ladies. Often I showed ladies how to make bread because they wanted to learn and nobody had showed them how. My sister knew how to drive the trucks and tractors. She also knew something about how to use wrenches. When she got married, her husband knew almost nothing about construction or manual labor. He will tell you it is because of her that he attempted new things. He was lifted up because she helped him along the way. A few years ago they built their own garage. When they got married he would have never attempted such a thing. When we were kids she worked with us milking the cows, driving the truck and tractors. She helped us build buildings on the farm. She shoveled the cow manure just like all of us. During the winter we worked inside more.
People need to quit discussing about whose jobs it is and just get to work and get the job done. The ant doesn't spend most of a day discussing how to store food. It just gets the job done.
A husband and wife should work as a team not apart from one another. What guy wants a wife who has no skills and does not know how to do anything? I have a very beautiful godly wife who has a lot of skills who takes care of our home and provides a great example of what hard work looks like. It is a delight when people see how we work together and the things I can tell others she has done. People come to our home and ask about the paintings on the wall. Often where she works she makes cookies and cakes etc. to brighten the lives of the people she works with. She reads and is intelligent. She graduated from college with honors. It is fantastic having a wife who I know is great. It is even greater when I have people tell me that. When I talk with business professionals and they tell me that I have a great wife it opens the door to a better relationship. Many times God has used her attitude for me to share Christ with them. When my daughter's and wife's birthday come along they want me to make the cake. My sister owns a cake business today a lot of because of what we were taught at home. Later she took classes on cake sculpturing and decorating. She has won many awards for her work. Her husband is a completely different man today than when they first got married. I am a very different person because of my wife's encouragement. It is great having a wife who thanks me for the things I do when something needs fixing because I have the skills and do not need to call someone to fix something.
I want to have a home so that we have something to share with others. I do not want to get by on the minimum but work and play hard. We have a lot of fun but we also work hard so that we have plenty and can give to others. Every Christmas we try to help a family in a tangible way rather than do much for ourselves. We have few needs. There have been times when I have taken my daughter with me to help others out. Sometimes people are surprised when they see her with me ready to work. She sees how to do ministry and my attitude toward it. In one year she will go to college. Underneath her choice of what to study is the thought that what she does she wants to be able to help people. She worked with me for four summers doing construction. It helped to shape her attitude in a positive way. At first she had a bad attitude and I told her that she was going and it was her choice to have a good or bad attitude but she was going. Eventually she started telling my wife about the things she did at work. She became encouraged at what she had accomplished. While she was at one job I did she got to meet the president of a very large TV production company. She got to be in a building that few will ever see. She got to see me at work and how I talked with people. She got to hear me share Christ while I worked with other people. On the way I would hsare things with her. I wouild ask her to pray for the people on the job.
Another time we worked together on a job that lasted quite awhile and she earned enough money to buy a $3400 piano. She buys her own books and reads all the time. She buys her own clothes and music. When we travel even just a few miles she is reading a book. Some of the books she has read are on apologetics.
Last winter our neighbors were gone and we knew when they would be returning so I suggested that we go and shovel their snow. So we did with a great attitude and no questions asked. One time we were gone and got home late and our driveway had ben shoveled. It is great when you have a daughter who gets good grades in school and has something to give so she can help others. It is great to have a wife who has tremendous amount of love and service to give. It is fantastic to see my wife bake things to give to others.
Working as a team is so much more fun and faster.