To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Sound doctrine requires older women to teach younger women their duties as wives and mothers so that their lives and speech give no cause for criticism and show the refining influence of truth. What they are to learn is to be sober-minded and discreet, to love husband and children, to be pure, devoted to the household, good, and obedient to their own husbands. This careful living is required so that God's word is not discredited or dishonored by their conduct, but honored, since careless conduct misrepresents Christ and reproaches Him. A wife and mother's own home is her sacred, God-given first work that no one else can do in her place and that comes before any public work, so no true work from God will lead her to neglect husband and children for meetings or labor for others. Being keepers at home means loving home duties and diligently making home orderly, comfortable and happy, with grave and pure words and deportment free from levity, gossip and evil-speaking, and with thorough training of children in the way of the Lord.
Words and Instruction
Instruction in sound doctrine is given for the benefit of both those who preach and those who hear the word, and is to be reflected in life and speech so as to provide no just cause for criticism. Truth received refines and sanctifies its receivers, and their conduct is to show its elevating influence so that unbelievers are given no just cause to speak evil of them. The duties set for young women belong to that sound doctrine and help make a person's life and conduct a good example in Christian life and witness. When professed servants of Christ fail to live carefully, God is dishonored and the truth is reproached.
Godly, aged older women are to teach these duties to young women as their duty as wives and mothers. What is to be taught is to be sober-minded, discreet, self-controlled and of sound judgment. It is to love husband and children, to be chaste and pure, to be keepers at home and devoted to the household, to be good, and to be obedient to their own husbands. Learning self-control and responsibility is preparation for a wife's position.
The purpose is that the word of God be not blasphemed, spoken against, discredited, or brought to dishonor, disgrace and discredit by conduct. Careful living honors God, while to disregard this instruction misrepresents Christ and reproaches Him and gives occasion for evil to be spoken.
Home Duty in Practice
A wife and mother's own home is her very important, sacred, holy, God-given work and first duty, true to her position as wife and mother. Her husband needs her and her children need their mother, and this is personal work in her own home that no one else can do in her place. It comes before any public work or other religious duties, and God does not call her to neglect husband and children or to separate her interest from them for such work.
The Spirit and the Word agree, so God will not give a wife and mother a work contrary to this Word. Neglecting husband and children to attend meetings, to work for others, to give Bible readings, or to carry messages for others goes directly contrary to it, and Christ's religion never leads a wife and mother to do so. Any teaching from any person leading to even the slightest neglect of home duties is not prompted by the Spirit of the Lord, and the idea that a greater and holier work has been entrusted to her is a deception.
Being keepers at home means loving home duties and loving husband and children, and finding the sweetest, happiest, and best enjoyment at home amid one's own family. It means staying at home and diligently making that home orderly, comfortable, and happy for husband and children. It means being a blessing and comfort to her husband rather than dragging him down and embittering his life. It means practicing self-denial and economy, planning to save expense and a husband's time, studying the united interest of both rather than seeking one's own pleasure, economizing time and strength so as not to be overtaxed, and bearing the light burden of home duties with perseverance and proper diligence.
The true sphere of woman is the home as wife and mother and head of the family, presiding as queen in her own domain. This requires practical fitness beyond price, for competence properly regulates the family and its happiness while lack of it wrecks the happiness of numberless families. Training should begin when a little girl is nine or ten by taking a regular share of household work and being held responsible for how she does it, apprenticed to her mother to learn the art of improving time. She must learn to cut, make, and mend clothing, to prepare food in a wholesome and palatable manner including making good bread essential to the health of the family, to wash, sweep, dust, and work in kitchen and garden, to guide and instruct children, to direct servants or minister with her own hands to household wants, and to understand the body and hygiene, diet, dress, labor, recreation, and treatment of disease so she can care for children in sickness. Ignorance of these essential duties leaves a married woman as dependent as her little children and makes very many unhappy families, and ornamental learning such as painting, fancy work, music, cube root, and rhetoric and amusements such as croquet, archery, and dancing cannot take their place.
An undue or extravagant love for visiting violates the verse because it leads to much expense, becomes a snare, and harms spiritual enjoyment. It also burdens others with one's presence, conversation, and children instead of diligently blessing one's own household. The verse does not forbid assembling with the people of God, but requires not carrying visiting and distant meetings too far and carefully studying whether attendance is duty.
Being discreet, chaste, and keepers at home requires Christian words, deportment, and character to be grave and pure, with sober thinking and Jesus enthroned in the heart. It forbids love-sick sentimentalism, flirting of married men with young girls or married women or widows, levity, licentiousness, lightness, trifling, jesting, and joking. It requires controlling the tongue from low, cheap talk by the bridle of grace and the bit of self-control. It includes refusing to carry scandal from family to family or to join the strife of tongues when vendors of scandal pass from family to family. Evil-speaking is a twofold curse falling more heavily on the speaker than on the hearer, and he who scatters dissension reaps deadly fruits in his own soul and remains a stranger to true happiness, while grace and peace rest on those who refuse to take part. Time so often worse than wasted in idle, frivolous, and malicious gossip should instead be used to visit the sick and afflicted and to labor patiently and kindly for those who have done wrong and the erring, in copying Christ the Pattern, which brings prosperity to the church.
The verse requires a faithful wife and mother to exemplify the Christian graces in home life as lovable, patient, kind, yet firm. She is to learn right methods and acquire tact for training her little ones that they may keep the way of the Lord. She is to do the most perfect, thorough work at home both by precept and example, in which she will have the help of the Lord.
Sound doctrine requires older women to teach younger women their duties as wives and mothers so that their lives and speech give no cause for criticism and show the refining influence of truth.
What they are to learn is to be sober-minded and discreet, to love husband and children, to be pure, devoted to the household, good, and obedient to their own husbands.
This careful living is required so that God's word is not discredited or dishonored by their conduct, but honored, since careless conduct misrepresents Christ and reproaches Him.
A wife and mother's own home is her sacred, God-given first work that no one else can do in her place and that comes before any public work, so no true work from God will lead her to neglect husband and children for meetings or labor for others.
Being keepers at home means loving home duties and diligently making home orderly, comfortable and happy, with grave and pure words and deportment free from levity, gossip and evil-speaking, and with thorough training of children in the way of the Lord.
Words and Instruction
Instruction in sound doctrine is given for the benefit of both those who preach and those who hear the word, and is to be reflected in life and speech so as to provide no just cause for criticism. Truth received refines and sanctifies its receivers, and their conduct is to show its elevating influence so that unbelievers are given no just cause to speak evil of them. The duties set for young women belong to that sound doctrine and help make a person's life and conduct a good example in Christian life and witness. When professed servants of Christ fail to live carefully, God is dishonored and the truth is reproached.
Godly, aged older women are to teach these duties to young women as their duty as wives and mothers. What is to be taught is to be sober-minded, discreet, self-controlled and of sound judgment. It is to love husband and children, to be chaste and pure, to be keepers at home and devoted to the household, to be good, and to be obedient to their own husbands. Learning self-control and responsibility is preparation for a wife's position.
The purpose is that the word of God be not blasphemed, spoken against, discredited, or brought to dishonor, disgrace and discredit by conduct. Careful living honors God, while to disregard this instruction misrepresents Christ and reproaches Him and gives occasion for evil to be spoken.
Home Duty in Practice
A wife and mother's own home is her very important, sacred, holy, God-given work and first duty, true to her position as wife and mother. Her husband needs her and her children need their mother, and this is personal work in her own home that no one else can do in her place. It comes before any public work or other religious duties, and God does not call her to neglect husband and children or to separate her interest from them for such work.
The Spirit and the Word agree, so God will not give a wife and mother a work contrary to this Word. Neglecting husband and children to attend meetings, to work for others, to give Bible readings, or to carry messages for others goes directly contrary to it, and Christ's religion never leads a wife and mother to do so. Any teaching from any person leading to even the slightest neglect of home duties is not prompted by the Spirit of the Lord, and the idea that a greater and holier work has been entrusted to her is a deception.
Being keepers at home means loving home duties and loving husband and children, and finding the sweetest, happiest, and best enjoyment at home amid one's own family. It means staying at home and diligently making that home orderly, comfortable, and happy for husband and children. It means being a blessing and comfort to her husband rather than dragging him down and embittering his life. It means practicing self-denial and economy, planning to save expense and a husband's time, studying the united interest of both rather than seeking one's own pleasure, economizing time and strength so as not to be overtaxed, and bearing the light burden of home duties with perseverance and proper diligence.
The true sphere of woman is the home as wife and mother and head of the family, presiding as queen in her own domain. This requires practical fitness beyond price, for competence properly regulates the family and its happiness while lack of it wrecks the happiness of numberless families. Training should begin when a little girl is nine or ten by taking a regular share of household work and being held responsible for how she does it, apprenticed to her mother to learn the art of improving time. She must learn to cut, make, and mend clothing, to prepare food in a wholesome and palatable manner including making good bread essential to the health of the family, to wash, sweep, dust, and work in kitchen and garden, to guide and instruct children, to direct servants or minister with her own hands to household wants, and to understand the body and hygiene, diet, dress, labor, recreation, and treatment of disease so she can care for children in sickness. Ignorance of these essential duties leaves a married woman as dependent as her little children and makes very many unhappy families, and ornamental learning such as painting, fancy work, music, cube root, and rhetoric and amusements such as croquet, archery, and dancing cannot take their place.
An undue or extravagant love for visiting violates the verse because it leads to much expense, becomes a snare, and harms spiritual enjoyment. It also burdens others with one's presence, conversation, and children instead of diligently blessing one's own household. The verse does not forbid assembling with the people of God, but requires not carrying visiting and distant meetings too far and carefully studying whether attendance is duty.
Being discreet, chaste, and keepers at home requires Christian words, deportment, and character to be grave and pure, with sober thinking and Jesus enthroned in the heart. It forbids love-sick sentimentalism, flirting of married men with young girls or married women or widows, levity, licentiousness, lightness, trifling, jesting, and joking. It requires controlling the tongue from low, cheap talk by the bridle of grace and the bit of self-control. It includes refusing to carry scandal from family to family or to join the strife of tongues when vendors of scandal pass from family to family. Evil-speaking is a twofold curse falling more heavily on the speaker than on the hearer, and he who scatters dissension reaps deadly fruits in his own soul and remains a stranger to true happiness, while grace and peace rest on those who refuse to take part. Time so often worse than wasted in idle, frivolous, and malicious gossip should instead be used to visit the sick and afflicted and to labor patiently and kindly for those who have done wrong and the erring, in copying Christ the Pattern, which brings prosperity to the church.
The verse requires a faithful wife and mother to exemplify the Christian graces in home life as lovable, patient, kind, yet firm. She is to learn right methods and acquire tact for training her little ones that they may keep the way of the Lord. She is to do the most perfect, thorough work at home both by precept and example, in which she will have the help of the Lord.