Mama, Here’s How to Realize Your True Worth as a Keeper at Home

If you walk into my house on a random Wednesday, you’ll probably decide pretty quickly that I am not a very good housekeeper. I tend to put off my chores until the last minute, my boys have an endless supply of Lego that end up in every room and I’ll never be caught up on the laundry. 

However, you might come to my house the next day and find everything neat, tidy, and put away. The laundry is all folded and stored in the proper drawers and closets. You might even arrive during the 5 minutes that the Lego are contained in their bins. On those days I look like the picture of homemaking perfection. 

When my house is sparkling clean and a yummy dinner is bubbling on the stove (or more accurately in my Instant Pot!), I feel more valuable in my role as a keeper at home. I am a success because my home looks good. 

This is the most common misconception we fall for as Christian homemakers–believing that our worth is based on how we keep our homes.

We know that our souls are priceless to our Heavenly Father. So priceless that He sent His Son to die so we can be with Him forever. 

However, once we get saved, we tend to forget that our worth isn’t based on the things we do. When my house is clean, I’m a good keeper at home. When it’s not, I’m a failure. 

What is a Keeper at Home?

The phrase “keeper at home” is found in Titus 2 in the King James Version of the Bible. It is part of an admonition from Paul to believers about God expects us to behave. 

In verse 2 we read that God wants older men to be:

• sober
• grave
• temperate
• sound in faith
• charitable
• patient

Then, in verse 3, he begins his instruction to the older women. First, he says they should behave as older men, but he also says they should teach the younger women a few things in addition.

The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Over the approximately 2,000 years since Paul first wrote these words, the meaning of “keeper at home” has gotten twisted. It’s often misunderstood and people assume that a traditional keeper at home is just a glorified maid. 

Having a clean house is part of being a keeper at home, but it’s not the only part. I take offense to the new social media trend of showing what a “real” home looks like. Rotting food in your living room and dirty (or even clean) diapers on the floor is not a normal way to live. (Nor is it healthy or sanitary.)

But being a keeper of the home means taking care of more than just the physical appearance of your house. One definition of the word keep is “to take care of.”

And while we often think of keeping a house, keeping a home is different. Your house is the four walls and roof that give you shelter. But home is the people who live inside those walls. The ones God gave you to take care of. 

Sure, being a keeper at home means doing the cooking and the cleaning, but it’s more than that. Keeping a home means serving and taking care of your family. 

Can I Work Outside My Home?

For many years there has been disagreement among people in the church about the meaning of these words. Is the apostle Paul stating that women should not have public jobs?

For thousands of years, women only worked in their homes. This doesn’t mean they didn’t do anything to earn money, only that they did it while they took care of their households. 

Historically, women have often earned money from home by doing things like selling eggs, mending clothes, washing, selling handcrafts and even turning their homes into boardinghouses. (Sounds a bit like the “side hustles” of today, right?)

But as society has changed, so has the desire and need for women to have jobs. I believe that God’s perfect plan is for women to stay at home with their children.

However, we don’t live in a perfect world. There are many situations where a woman needs to work. 

I  know that God called me to be a homemaker. But I cannot pretend to know what is His calling for you. You must pray and ask God for wisdom to know what He wants for you and your family. 

The Bible tells us that if we truly ask God for wisdom in a situation, He will give it to us. (James 1:5)

What is a Keeper at Home Worth?

You may have seen one of the articles floating around that figures up how much a homemaker would earn if she was paid for all the work she did. 

Sure, the numbers are meant to make us feel like we have worth even though we don’t earn a salary. But that puts us back in the mindset of believing our work at home is valued in dollars and cents. 

But as Christian women, we know that our worth to the Lord is not based on the amount of money we earn or even the amount of work we do. 

In the Old Testament, we read about the Proverbs 31 woman and all the things she does to serve her family. The entire chapter never mentions how much money she contributed to her household budget. 

Instead, the verses are all about the things she does to serve her family and community. Here are just a few of the things she does:

• she works willingly
• she gets up early
• she feeds her family
• she gives to the poor and needy
• she is wise and kind
• she is not lazy

All of these words describe things she does for others. And how much is that worth?

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Proverbs 31:10

A woman who chooses to stay at home and serve God as a wife and mom has value and worth that goes far beyond any amount of money. 

It’s Okay to be a Servant

Sometimes the life of a homemaker does seem like that of a servant. Nearly everything we do is to serve others. In the eyes of the world, servants are lowly and have their place at the bottom of the ladder. But God’s way is the opposite of ours. 

In Mark 10 we read the story of two brothers who came to Jesus and asked Him if He would allow them to sit on His right and left hand when he reigned. (They still didn’t understand His purpose on earth.)

Jesus told them that position was not His to give, but then He went a little further and turned everything they believed upside down. 

But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

While our modern society tells us that the most important people are those who are the leaders, the wealthiest, and the big thinkers. But God says we have it backward. In His kingdom, the servant is the greatest of all. 

In fact, Jesus came to earth to be a servant and give His life for sinners. When you serve your family, church, and community, you are following the example of Jesus to be a minister to the need of others.

Keepers of home are servants, and that’s okay. We are ultimately serving God in the day-to-day tasks of keeping a house. 

How to Serve God as a Keeper at Home

Homemaking is often full of the most mundane tasks. Every day seems the same.

Make the beds, wash the dishes, dust the furniture, vacuum the furniture, and fold laundry. World without end. 

These tasks don’t have much impact outside the walls of your house. Because of that, you might think they also have no value in the light of eternity. 

But if being a homemaker is the work God has called you to do, it matters to Him how you do it. Being a keeper at home has a lot more to do with attitudes than actions. 

Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” 

It may feel like no one notices what you’re doing. Your kids may never stop to think about how those clean clothes get into their drawers. You may never cook a meal that pleases every picky palate at the table. (The struggle is real.) And your husband may not care if his nightstand is dust-free. 

It’s easy to feel invisible and get discouraged when you think your work doesn’t matter. But it does matter to Someone. God sees every sock you fold, dish you wash, and knick-knack you dust. 

As long as you look at those tasks as things you are doing to serve the Lord, it matters. Every little chore that you do to care for your home and family is a way you are serving God. 

This little mindset shift can take you from feeling like a maid to feeling like a princess–the true daughter of God you are. 

God Values You as a Keeper at Home

Some days your house is spotless and clean. On other days it’s a mess and you have to step over toys from one end to the other. While you might love yourself a little more when it’s clean, God’s love for you never changes. 

He doesn’t value you when the floors are clean enough to eat off of (and if you’ve ever had toddlers, you know they will eat there), and scowl in disappointment when there are cookie crumbs under the table (those pesky toddlers again).

Telling you that your worth is based on the things you do is a trick of Satan to keep you discouraged and unable to live a happy, joyful life in Christ. 

Mama, it’s time to stop falling for those lies. God loves you so much that He sent Jesus to die for you. You are worth the life of His Son–whether your house is clean or not. 

You may also like:

• Being a Mom is Hard: Here are 10 Bible Verses to Help
• 5 Inspiring Ways Modern Moms Can Be a Titus 2 Woman

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