Question:  Dear Greg,

            Isn’t it biblical that women should not work outside the home especially if they have children?  Isn’t their role to teach and nurture the children at home while the husband’s role is to provide for the family?  If so, are Christian families where both husband and wife are working and putting the kids in day care living in sin?

            Larry

Answer:  Dear Larry,

            There is no direct biblical prohibition against a mother working outside the home.  The Bible does give general guidelines about roles for mothers and fathers, but none so specific as those about which you ask.  We all live in sin, of course, for our natures are sinful—but you probably mean “willful, continuous sin” in terms of placing children in day care.  The act of doing so does not necessarily mean that some sinful situation is taking place any more than a woman who does not work necessarily means that righteous and godly activities are taking place in her home.  The issue is a little more complex than that…as indeed is our world in which many Christian families live, struggling to do their best as families.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht