Momma Priorities

After I read the Children Vows (below post) I really stewed for several days. I have a hard time when someone is proud to put their career over their child (or their marriage!). I cringed when she said she wanted to frame the vows; I hoped the child couldn't read yet. How heartbreaking.

So does that mean mothers shouldn't work?

Absolutely not, it does not mean that at all. God has plans for all of us and he is mighty enough to let us in on what we should do if we simply ask. I know some awesome moms who are also successful professionals-our girls' pediatrician, my OB, our favorite labor & delivery nurse are three off the top of my head. I have no doubt these women were designed to work right where they are. But they've not ditched their jobs as mothers in the process. You can see in each of their lives that their child(ren) comes before their work.

So what should our priorities be?

Scripture does make it clear that we are to have no gods before the One True God, so it's a given that the first priority should always be God.

God made the family unit, he ordained marriage. The purpose of marriage is to produce godly offspring, says the Word. The marriage is clearly the second priority, then the child(ren). Although it's a whole different post, just know that it gets ugly when this gets flip flopped and the kids come before the marriage!

What does God say about careers? Well, when the Bible talks about work, the command to do it well is near by. We are to do our work as unto the Lord, not to men. Scripture doesn't say what work, it just assumes we will. It doesn't say paid or unpaid either.

So if God didn't put an emphasis on climbing the ladder, then why should we? It seems a life of integrity coupled with a strong work ethic will usually result in favor on the job. The focus isn't on the end, it's the means. The Christian life is all about the means, by the way...

And just what if someone doesn't really care what God says about family, careers and such? Well, even the mainstream world recognizes family is more important than a career. How many times have you heard it said that you won't look back on your life and wish you'd spent more time at work?

I'll close it up with this-my priorities get messed up, too. Maybe not regarding family and career, but in other ways. Shifting priorities into their rightful spot is constant WORK. But it's the kind of work that blesses our families and that's what mommas are called to do.