You step over piles of clutter as you rush to get the kids ready for school. When you open the refrigerator, you discover that you’re out of milk again, but dry cereal will have to do for breakfast. There’s no time to run to the store because you’re running late. Then your kids tell you that they can’t find any clean shirts to wear because you haven’t gotten to the laundry. You wish you could go to school in their places because you just want to escape from the chaos in your house for a while. Does this remind you of your household?
If not, how about this: Your young son comes in the house from playing in the backyard and immediately tracks mud all over your clean carpets. You yell at him and feel bad when he cries, but doesn’t he realize how exhausted you are from cleaning the house all day long? And now you have to finish cooking a dinner from scratch. Your daughter offers to help you cook; she even says it would be fun for her. But fun is the last thing on your mind right now. You send both of your kids away so you can focus on getting everything done exactly right.
Neither extreme is healthy. You can have a clean, organized, and peaceful home – and time to enjoy it – if you seek God’s wisdom about managing it.
Here’s how you can enjoy harmony in your household:
Manage your home as well as you would a business. Recognize that running your home is much like running a business. You and others in your household provide important services like food preparation, child raising, laundry, transportation, housecleaning, caring for the sick, caring for the lawn and garden, home and car maintenance and repair, acquiring goods and services, and financial accounting. Managing your household is important work that requires someone to take charge, and the person who assumes responsibility for serving as the manager deserves appreciation and respect. If you’re a single parent, you’re your family’s manager. If you’re married, figure out who can best serve in the role (you or your spouse) – according to who has the most amount of time at home (even if you both work outside the home). Understand, though, that while just one person serves as the manager, he or she manages a team of family members who all pitch in to do the work – just like in a professional workplace. Divide the various household chores among yourself, your spouse, and your children, according to each person’s giftedness and availability. Know that your work at home has just as much dignity, honor, and value as professional work. Do your best to work together to create a home that runs as smoothly as a successful business.
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