Should christian homemakers take dominion in the home?

Should christian homemakers take dominion in the home?

If anyone were asking if christian homemakers should take dominion in the home, most people would say, “Of course!” But it would seem there is a bit of a shift in culture where the homemakers are not, in fact, taking dominion of the home. 

What exactly is meant by “take dominion”? Dominion simply means, “sovereignty or control.” 

Simply put, for the homemaker, the home is our domain. 

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’ ”

Genesis 1:28

The dominion mandate.

This was in the garden of Eden, before the fall. We were created in God’s image to care for God’s creation. This work has always been the will of God for us!

So if we’re not on a hobby farm, is this scripture relevant to us? Of course. God’s word is powerful and should bear its weight on our lives no matter what our circumstances are. 

So for those of us who don’t have any “creeping thing” to take dominion of, what does it look like in our own life?

For the christian homemaker, we have the responsibility of the home! 

If we want more examples of a woman’s role from scripture we can always look to the Proverbs 31 Woman.

She oversees the whole operation of the home. Whether she was a real person, or an archetype that we can model our lives after, she is an encouragement. 

The whole of Psalm 31 is beautiful and I implore you to read it. (The whole bible is wonderful and I encourage you to be in the Word regularly too!) 

But for the sake of our discussion here, I’m going to just give a few highlights of how she was the “boss” of her home.

She blesses her husband greatly. She works with her hands. She brings food from afar. She rises early. She gives to the poor. She makes sure everyone in her household is warmly dressed. She makes linen garments and sells them. The list goes on and on.

She had womanly dominion. 

Her husband is mentioned a few times also. 

As we are orchestrating our homes to the best of our abilities, we are ultimately under our husband’s authority as we do so.

We can’t overlook this! Yes, we are (typically) going to be the primary worker in the home, but our husbands are ultimately responsible for us.

If that can prick our pride a little bit, let’s also remember that our husband is ultimately responsible TO GOD for what happens in our families and homes.

If we get led astray in caring for our “dominion” and start tearing apart the house or dragging the kids to events that aren’t God honoring, our husbands will have to answer to God for these things. 

It’s a bit sobering isn’t it? It should spur us on to really be doing our research and knowing WHY we want to do things a certain way in every area of our “dominion”.

So, for the rest of our discussion, I want to be super clear that our husbands are the ultimate “boss” of the home, with us being the “vice president”. 

This hierarchy is God-ordained and it is good. 

However, most husbands are going to be more than happy to let us do what we see fit as far as keeping the home. He will be greatly blessed by his wife running the home well!

Just be sure to honor his wishes if he does voice them.

Related: How can wives grow in respecting our husbands?

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Homemakers taking dominion in the home.

Why is it we feel we don’t have the authority to make certain decisions for our homes? 

What about the items you wish you could declutter but you’re too afraid you’ll hurt someone’s feelings if they come over and notice it’s gone?

What about the kids items that are all unorganized but you are concerned they will be upset if you move “their stuff”?

How about feeling like it’s acceptable if certain things are never clean because in your mind your family should be more helpful? 

I lived for years with some really annoying decorative moulding in my kitchen that I really didn’t like.

“How can minimalism change your life for the better?”

Finally one day it dawned on me…. I don’t have to leave this up!

No one is going to come check on me! I get to be the boss of my own home.

It was SO MUCH FUN tearing it out and I’ve never regretted that decision. 

Why do we struggle to realize we get to be the boss of our own house? It’s a funny paradigm, for sure. But many christian women have this same struggle.  

Our homes should serve our unique families in the good work that we have been called to. 

This is going to look a little bit different for each family. But if you find yourself “wishing” for something specific in your home… do it! 

I’m not saying we should try to manifest some over-the-top luxurious things all for the sake of “taking dominion” of the home. No, we have to be mindful of financial dominion as well. (A separate discussion altogether.)

My point is, if you have always wanted a garden, but only have room in the front yard, then make a front yard garden!

If you wish you had coat hangers at 3 feet high in the foyer for the kids… put up the tiny hangers!

We don’t need anyone’s permission to make our homes function best for our individual family. 

Let us care for our homes to the glory of God! 

Homemakers taking dominion in the education of the children.

Home education is a great way to have a really accurate pulse on where each kid is academically.

Plus we can be teaching from the word of God, and learning about the life of Jesus Christ every day. It’s a beautiful way to deepen our family relationships in a christian family. We get to enjoy our favorite books together and do lots of scripture reading.

It’s a beautiful experience!

I am not saying everyone needs to homeschool (it’s awesome though!), but I am saying parents are primarily responsible for the education of their children.

If you choose to outsource the education, (no judgement here!) you should still know what is going on with your children’s education. 

I have a dearest friend who public schools her children, and she is fully informed on what each kid is learning. She is in touch with teachers, knows what each kid is struggling and excelling in.

This is a beautiful picture of still having dominion of the education of the children. 

Even if someone else is doing the teaching, we are still called to be primarily responsible for a good education for our kids!

Homemakers taking dominion in the health of our families. 

Have you ever heard a mom saying their kid wasn’t feeling well, so they want to “take them in, just in case.”  

Moms, you are the primary healthcare provider for your children.

Of course, we will come up against things we aren’t equipped to treat and will have to hire a certified physician for their care. But do you see that word “HIRE”? We are hiring them to work for us at a rather large price. So we are the boss in the situation. 

When did it happen that we started to feel like we have to obey what they tell us to do?

It breaks my heart so much when I hear a mom telling me how they hated what a medical professional was doing to their kid, but they didn’t feel like they could say anything. 

We are primarily responsible for the health care of our children.

No matter what medical choices you decide to make for your family, just be sure you are doing your own research.

Whether we take them to someone else, or take care of them at home, it’s our responsibility what happens to them and what repercussions they experience from it. 

Homemakers, may I encourage you? You can learn to do so much more than you may think!

We can easily get an assortment of medical supplies and learn how to use them. A blood pressure monitor, a stethoscope, and an otoscope (ear infection scope) are great tools to have on hand. 

*I’m NOT advocating withholding proper care for really sick loved ones. Please see a professional for anything serious.*

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Homemakers taking dominion in the nutrition of the family.

We can’t talk about a homemaker’s dominion without mentioning meals!

How we feed our loved ones is super important. If we are constantly feeding the kids junk food that we KNOW is bad for them because we are simply being lazy, then we are not honoring God in this area.

We could swing too far the other direction, though, and end up being afraid of every type of food. This wouldn’t be healthy either, and the kids would pick up on this pretty quickly!

The most important thing we can do is just do our best with what we know and what we can afford.

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Homemakers taking dominion in the clothing of the family members.

“She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.” 

Proverbs 31:19

I’m not saying we need to be making everyone’s clothing. If that IS you… I’d like to applaud you! 

We are to make sure everyone has the clothing they need!

This seems like a no-brainer, but this can be easy to forget. What about those seasonal things that our kids seem to grow out of yearly? sandals, rain boots, snow pants, sweaters, etc.

I know I’ve been caught more than once in an early snowstorm when the kids didn’t have the proper gear for the weather. It’s our responsibility to make sure everyone is adequately attired.

If you’re having a hard time affording warm enough clothing for your family some churches and women’s centers may be able to help!

Ladies, don’t forget about you!

This will also include dressing ourselves. 

Are you making sure the kids are decked out in adorable attire while you’ve been wearing the same nursing bra for 6 years? If so, we have a lot in common!

​We were made in the image of God. We should be taking care of ourselves. We should be getting dressed every day. In my post about “Can christian women feel sexy?” we discussed how important it is to get dressed.

Yes there are hard times, when you may be postpartum or unwell. For the most part, though, we should be dressing properly.

What does it mean for a married woman to dress properly? This will look different for everyone, but I’d encourage you to talk to your own husbands about his preferences. 

This is an area that can easily get out of hand if you’re not careful, so definitely be intentional here. 

​Homemakers exercising dominion.

We may not be exercising dominion over the fowl of the air, but I assure you what we are doing is very important.

Our homes are the hub of our entire lives!

Having a home that runs smoothly will make our families so much more effective in our sphere of influence.

Our family life will be so rich.

By God’s grace, we can continue to grow in being a woman of dominion. 

Let us keep fighting the good fight and doing this good work!

God bless you!