The Ministry of Homemaking

Most of the time, the art of keeping a home and caring for those within its walls is my favorite part of daily life. It brings me joy to live out the ministry of homemaking to which God calls me.

Yet when it feels monotonous, like emptying the dishwasher for the umpteenth time, or simply overwhelming, like facing a pile of laundry that rivals Mount Everest, I start to view homemaking as a burden rather than the blessing God meant it to be. Maybe you’ve felt the same way.

But what if God calls us to treat our role as homemaker less like a scrub-maid and more like a ministry? How can we create a home that honors Him and the blessings He’s given us?

The Ministry of Homemaking

We’ve all been called to the ministry of homemaking. Whether you stay home full time or work outside the home, have a large family or it’s just you—you are a minister of homemaking!

Don’t be afraid to assume the role of ‘minister’—a seminary degree isn’t necessary to create a God-honoring home! By acting as His agent to watch over, lift, and strengthen those around us, we are ministering to their needs and supporting their walk with Jesus.

As homemakers, we have the unique opportunity to partner with God to create and manage a home that honors Him, and minister to the people living inside.

A Home That Honors God

Creating a home that honors God isn’t about folding clothes, making gourmet meals, or designing a Pinterest-worthy living room. Rather, it’s cultivating a beautiful resting place with God at the center of all rhythms and routines, where the people within those four walls experience peace, grace, and love.

So how do we bring God into the center of our homes? Here are a few practical ways to honor God through the ministry of homemaking:

Honor Him with Your Attitude

I don’t know about you, but my attitude toward homemaking often stinks like the dirty underwear I scrub for my potty-training toddler. Some days I seek to serve myself more than I seek to serve others. Some days I grumble more than I’m grateful. My attitude often needs a full adjustment.

Here’s what I’ve learned: creating a God-honoring atmosphere starts with us! Our attitude sets the stage for the whole day and influences the attitudes of our family members. If we’re snappy with our kids, they learn to be snappy right back. If we snarl about an errand our husband asks us to run, we’re showing him that we care more about our convenience than his needs.

Each morning we have a choice to honor God with our attitude for the day. Will we be a blessing to our family or a hinderance? Are we going to view the tasks ahead as burdens or blessings?

To switch my attitude from one of grumbling to one of gratitude, I start my morning with a simple prayer:

Lord, please help me to be a blessing to others today, especially my family. Let me honor you with my attitude, my words, and my service.

Honor Him with Your Words

Another way to honor God within our home is to make Him a regular part of the conversation, as normal as “please pass the peas” or “let’s watch a movie.”

We learn the importance of sharing God’s instructions with our family in Deut. 11:18–19. God tells us to “fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

It's important that we talk about God within our homes! Here are a few ways to honor God with your words:

• Pray scripture over your family. Let them hear God’s word spoken before they leave for school, after a hard soccer practice, and when they lay their heads down to sleep.
• Hang Scriptures around your home—the bathroom mirror, the door to the garage—a anywhere they’ll be seen regularly. Each time you pass one, read it out loud, and encourage your family members to do the same.
• Begin a mealtime ritual by asking each member of the home to answer this question: What did God say to you today? It’s sure to be a rich discussion about God’s presence in the daily lives of our loved ones.

When our home is filled with God’s life-affirming Word, we create an environment that is pleasing to Him and one in which everyone feels respected, honored, loved, and seen.

Honor Him with Your Service

It’s hard to muster enthusiasm to pick up your husband’s stinky socks off the bathroom floor again or prepare another meal no one appreciates. Serving others doesn’t often come with an earthly reward, but we honor God when we model Christ’s example to serve the people around us.

Colossians 3:23–24 reminds us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

When we accept that everything we do—every dish we wash, every shirt we iron, every kiss we give—as a commission to honor God, we’re empowered to minister to someone we love just as if we were serving Jesus Himself.

A High Calling

It’s up to us as ministers of homemaking to ensure that God is evident in everything we do and everything we say within our homes. We have a high calling to honor His plans for our lives by using our unique gifts and talents to care for the relationships and space with which He’s entrusted us.

Our actions either build the Kingdom or lead someone further from it. There is no greater mission field than inside our homes. Let’s embrace the God-given ministry of homemaking, honoring Him with our attitude, words, and service. We can be confident that He will guide us as we faithfully steward all He’s given us.