Tag: 2

By Elizabeth Prata

The other day I came across a post on X (formerly Twitter) from The Transformed Wife/Lori Alexander/ @godlywomanhood, which stated flatly:

I erased the rest of the post so I could present the main focus, her outlandish statement. I left the date and time stamp if you want to look it up to see the rest of her sentence.

Lori plays doctor, making overgeneralizing claims that have no basis in reality. Ladies, sometimes it’s OK or even necessary to work. Circumstances vary from household to household. In Christian liberty, you and your husband should pray, discuss, and decide what is best for you.

“The workforce” doesn’t cause infertility. Activity such as a stressful work environment can impact a woman’s cycles. But so can intense physical activity. Some female athletes when intensely training for an event, can result in not having a period anymore, called Amenorrhea.

Avoid Lori, her counseling advice and her medical advice!

Point #1-

Lori is a Legalist. This means she puts burdens on people she declares as biblical mandates which are actually within the realm of Christian liberty. Legalism has several nuances.

1. Legalism is believing that salvation can be earned by obedience.
2. Legalism is believing that one can obey the Bible through his own will and power for the purpose of gaining a greater measure of God’s approval and favor.

And here is where Lori Alexander’s legalism comes in-

3. Legalism elevates man-made rules above the Scripture. “This third form of legalism elevates man-made rules, especially prohibitions, to the same level of authority as God-given commands and the belief that following these rules will aid you in your spiritual growth.” Source ACBC Biblical Counseling.com

There is no scripture that says a woman may never under any circumstances join “the workforce”. In fact you notice Lori rarely if ever attaches an actual verse to her commands and pronouncements. Not just Lori, but ladies, watch out for any “Bible teacher” who does this.

There are situations which a husband and wife decide the wife works- he is deployed, in jail, on medical disability, finishing college, trade school, or seminary. To save for a house to have large down-payment and low or no debt.

The Bible offers up women who DID work in “the workforce”. There are others mentioned such as prostitutes, servants, and slaves but I am not pointing to them. The ones in this list are women who had jobs or duties in some kind of work-for-pay outside the home or a job that took them from home, whether it was theirs or their father’s.

Rachel was a Shepherdess.
Egyptian Midwives worked.
Sheerah, a builder, was the daughter of Ephraim, son of Joseph, 1 Chronicles 7:24.
Lydia worked, she had a business selling purple. Her work allowed her to have a large enough house to host church and guests for the propagation of the Gospel and the teaching of the saints.
Deborah worked, she was a wife but also a Judge/Prophetess.
Priscilla- was a Tentmaker with her husband.
Esther, Candace, Sheba- Queens.
Ruth- worked as a gleaner alongside Boaz’s women in the fields until the end of the harvests. (Ruth 2:23)
Women were also patronesses & benefactors, such as Susannah and Phoebe, which required them to manage their means and likely an employee.

2 Thessalonians 3:10 says, For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.

I don’t see a gender prohibition in this verse. The verse doesn’t say, if any man is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either; But women must not enter the workforce’…

It’s true that we must be diligent to sustain ourselves and not rely on the church or others without being willing to pull our own weight. But the Lord was gracious to leave us room to manage our individual affairs in ways that would be consistent with His general principles in this area without making strict mandates in a one size fits all forcible lifestyle.

Point #2-

Christian liberty means where the Bible doesn’t command or deny some kind of standard for us, it is within the realm of the individual or the couple to pray and follow biblical concepts as best they can.

Believers are free to do any activity that is not expressly forbidden in the Bible, as long it it does not present a stumbling block to others or violate your own conscience. Romans 14:22 says,

The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is the one who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 

There are many verses in Proverbs and elsewhere that talk about the busy ant, verses speaking against the slacker and the idle. Christians work.

The Bible does not expressly forbid women to work outside the home. The women named above were not chastised by any person in the Bible or any verse that said they were violating a command.

However, there is a third, very important point-

Point #3

When the couple begins to have kids mom should do all she can to be a stay-at-home mother, though. God did give women a special role in childbearing and child raising. Strongly, if at all possible, moms should be at home with their children.

Here’s John MacArthur with a good article on a woman’s priorities: “What should a wife’s priorities be? Can she work outside the home?” Titus 2:3–5; Ephesians 5:25, 28; 1 Timothy 2:15

What are God’s priorities for women? Seven priorities of a godly wife are spelled out in Titus 2:3-5 … Whether or not a woman works outside the home, God’s primary calling is for her to manage the home. That is the most exalted place for a wife. The world is calling many modern women out of the home, but not the Lord. His Word portrays the woman’s role as one preoccupied with domestic duties. It is a high calling, far more crucial to the future of a woman’s children than anything she might do in an outside job.

The ultimate decision is a personal one that each woman must make in submission to her husband’s authority. Obviously, a single woman would be free to work and pursue outside employment. A married woman with no children is perhaps a little more restricted in the amount of time and energy she can devote to an outside job. A woman who is a mother obviously has primary responsibility in the home and would therefore not be free to pursue outside employment to the detriment of the home.

Conclusion

1. Some “Bible teachers” who sound good and biblical at first pass are actually expert at mixing in untruths with truth to the disservice of your walk. Not all that glitters is gold. Don’t let unwise and uninformed internet teachers put a burden on you that does not exist. (Or release you from restrictions that should exist). Test all things.

2. Keep in mind your Christian liberty- absent a command or a forbidding, always seek to align your decisions with the values that God has for you in your role at each stage of life. Always compare what you are learning from any teacher online or real life, with what the Bible says- and doesn’t say.

3. If you have children it is true that you and your husband should seek the Lord’s help in structuring your life to align with the priority of the mother at home managing the home, while husband provides.

Further Resources

Lori follows the stance of (false) Dale Partridge, which is that women should NOT teach any theology to any man or woman. Ever. His stance is here.

Partridge’s stance is rebutted biblically by Henry Anderson at The Cripplegate, here.

What does the Bible say about the woman working outside the home? GotQuestions article

Should women ‘work at home?’ How to understand and apply Titus 2, by Bill Mounce, an excellent, thorough article.

Does the Bible Allow women to work outside the home? Live Q&A, video by Dave Guzik, “We shouldn’t treat one Bible passage as if it says everything about a subject- we need to do what 2 Timothy 2:15 says to do, rightly divide the word of truth, and that means not taking one verse and acting as if that’s the only thing the Bible says on the subject.” slide to 3:43 to 17:24