Blogging and Neglecting Your Family

God specifically states that leaders in the church shouldn’t be young so they won’t be puffed up with pride; Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil (1 Timothy 3:6). A novice is “a person new to or inexperienced in a field or situation.” I read blogs written by young women with huge followings and they write books and tour the country giving speeches. I see a problem with this and one of my friends did too. She wrote me this text:

 I read ______ blog post and, oh my, that woman needs some serious conviction and repentance. It's embarrassing to see a Christian mom so irresponsible and unconcerned about her lack of stewardship over her household and children. And she gives women with more than two children a bad name and is feeding into people’s idea that they shouldn't have multiple children because they won't be able to handle it. How can she so proudly display her sin for all to see? She needs to stop spending her time blogging, speaking, and writing and fulfill her role as a wife and mom. She absolutely does have the time and energy to be a godly mother, but she decides to spend her energies on people outside her home at the expense of her family.

 The problems I see with these women are that for starters, many times they are teaching men in their crowds. Women are specifically forbidden for teaching men. “But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet” (1 Timothy 2:12). Secondly, God has given the responsibility of teaching younger women to older women for a reason. They have experience raising children and being married for a long time. Younger women do not since they usually have children in the home who should be their first priority.

 On John Piper’s blog, a woman named Liz Wann wrote some strong words about being marinated in the Word and experiences in life before beginning any type of ministry to others, less there be a temptation to be puffed up with pride and begin living in sin. “Jesus is the sinless example of the intersection of public and private living. For starters, Jesus did not have a public ministry until his thirties. First, he sweated decades over the hard manual labor of carpentry. For the majority of his life, Jesus was unknown and seemingly ordinary. Yet he was faithful in the mundane. He worked with his hands and created form and beauty out of planks of wood… In some astonishingly mysterious way, Jesus’s pre-ministry years were purposeful and necessary for him to increase “in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52) It was in the field of carpentry that Jesus learned and grew into a sympathetic High Priest, and it is here that he models for us that no form of work — even the most mundane — is below the God-man. It is a calling — a place to be, and live, authentically.”

 When God speaks about older women in the Bible, He is speaking about those who have raised children. “Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work” (1 Timothy 5:10). Older women should be those who have spent the “unknown and seemingly ordinary” days being “faithful in the mundane” of raising and disciplining children, being a help meet to their husband, and staying busy in the home. Younger women haven’t done this long enough and are still in the process of doing it.

 Don’t expect to have a blog with a large following while you are younger. Spend your days with your husband, children and keeping a clean and tidy home. Fame is a pit of destruction for many people, especially when they are young. They crawl into it since they believe they are “above the Law” and don’t practice what they preach or don’t have the experience they should have to be doing what they are doing.

If you are a mother with children still in the home, focus your time and energies on loving and obeying your husband. Be the best help meet to him you possibly can. Love your children and raise them to be self-controlled lovers of Jesus. Fix your family nourishing food, help those in need when you have time, and take care of all the things that a home requires. This is a good work and what the Lord has called you to do. Then if you have a bit of extra time to do some blogging, go ahead and do it but don't allow it to consume your time and energy. Always keep time with the Lord, your marriage, children and home your priority. This is God's will for you.