Chores.
"Blah."
"I don't wanna!!"
"But it's not fun!"
*heavy sigh*
"....they are a necessary evil..."
All things we've thought, felt, said, or heard when chore time is called for. As mama's we probably more often think these things rather than show or say our feeling of chores. Cuz if we say it out loud, what are we teaching our kids?? So we do it internally. As if that makes it better. *rolls eyes*
But is that what we should be thinking or feeling? No.
So what *should* we be thinking? What *should* our view be of chores? And most importantly, what does GOD say about chores?
Let's look at Scripture and see what we can find.
~ God is a God of order.
I Corinthians 14:33 God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
~ He gave us the example of working for 6 days and resting on the 7th.
Exodus 20:9-11 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
~ We are created to work!
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden Eden to work it and keep it.
Psalm 128:2 You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
~We should see our chores as ministry opportunities.
One of my favorite examples of this is Peter's mother-in-law. She was sick with a high fever, so sick she was lying in bed. As soon as Jesus healed her "she began to serve them." (Mark 1:29-31)
Another example of this is the Shunammite woman who served Elisha. She was a wealthy woman and apparently was very persistent in wanting to feed Elisha. And very genuine and took great joy in doing this. So much so that "whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food." The woman had a chat with her husband and suggested or requested that since "he was continually passing our way" that they should make a room for him that held "a bed, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there." He had his own B&B! She used the wealth that God had given her, her love of serving, and experience of hosting others to minister to Elisha.
Let's face it. Chores aren't always fun. But if you have the right attitude about it and work to teach your kids to have the right attitude, it's not all that bad! It can even become pleasant and maybe, *just maybe*, fun at times. When my kids complain about chores or question why we have to do them, I usually just simply remind them that God created us to work and more often than not I get a "oh yeah!" and they are good to go. Other times we have to have a bit longer conversation about why working is a good thing and our attitudes. And other times we have to have a loonnnggg conversation and add in talking about doing all things without complaining (Philippians 2:14) and rejoicing always *in the LORD* (Philippians 4:4).
Don't grow weary of teaching your kids to enjoy work. Show them by your example to work hard and to enjoy the job that God has given you. One of the jobs my kids have right now is school. I homeschool my kids so one of my jobs is to be their teacher. If I have a bit of an attitude about *having* to teach that day, they likely will as well. That just makes teaching/learning super hard. Been there, done that. When I have the right attitude though.....it's a joy! The school day (usually) goes smoothly and good learning happens. Show them with your attitude while sweeping the floor (uh-gain) and folding the millionth load of laundry that work is a *very* good thing!!
Don't grow weary mama! 💕
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