Guide the House | Biblical Womanhood and Homemaking

Guide the House

1 Timothy 5:14 in the KJB says,

I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

What does it mean for women to "guide the house" and to "give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully"?

Guiding the House

Guide means "To lead or direct in a  way; to conduct in a course or path; To influence; to give direction to; To instruct and direct; to regulate and manage; to superintend; A person who leads or directs another in his way or course; One who directs another in his conduct or course of life;"

Basically, women are to do "the work of the ministry" (Eph 4:12 "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:") by guiding their own homes first and foremost. This means to train and properly teach our children Gods word rightly divided. We are also to be examples of godly living for our children, and even for our grandchildren and anyone who comes to visit our homes by our chaste and holy lifestyle.

"While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear." 1 Peter 3:2 KJB 

We are also to keep house by keeping it clean, neat, comfortable and organized. Then, we teach this to our children, teaching them how to clean, cook, organize things, keep a schedule etc.

We are to guide the house also by guarding the home from too many worldly influences and from false doctrines. You can also do regular Bible studies together as a family and memorizing scriptures and try to make it fun and enjoyable for them. If you can start teaching them Gods word early on in their life, they are more likely to stick with sound doctrine as they get older. Having a godly husband and other grace believers in your family's life also helps. Just one bad influence in your childs life can steer them in the wrong direction and sadly sometimes these influences can come from extended family members or even from unexpected places like a rebellious child in your church or in a homeschool group. We can only do our best to guard them, but at least we did do our best by obeying God's word.

The reason to guide the house is so that we "give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." The adversary of course is Satan. He will use people, especially unbelievers, to speak ill about you and try to ruin your testimony. He will look for any little thing. We cannot control what other people think or say about us, of course, but our desire is not so much to save our personal reputations but that the unbelievers around us would be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth. We don't want to be known as busy-bodies, gossips, lazy, self-righteous, rude, immodest, loud, obnoxious, etc. Rather, we want to allow Christ to live in and through us and to display the fruits of the Spirit such as being loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, forgiving, longsuffering (patient), charitable, hospitalable, gentle, good, faithful, meek, modest and temparant. If we are spending our lives focused on worldly persuits and pleasures, people take notice of this and it doesn't guide them to the gospel of their salvation.

It's also important to note that not all women absolutely have to get married and have children. If you believe that you can remain celibate (see 1 Cor 7), then you can do "the work of the ministry" in other ways without being married or having children. However, very few people actually have this gift naturally.

1 Cor 7:8-9

8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I (single and focused entirely on sharing the Gospel and teaching sound grace doctrine).

9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

But, even as a single woman focused entirely on sharing the gospel with others, teaching sound grace doctrine to other women, and helping out in the local assembly and doing other charitable works, you still need to be careful not to become a busy-body, or being lazy, or focusing on worldly persuits.

Ephesians 4:17-19

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk [Unbelievers or carnally-minded Christians], in the vanity of their mind,

18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

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