Secular studies are finally confirming what Christians have been affirming all along: the value of stay-at-home Moms. It reminds me of the MasterCard themed commercials: the price of a nice steak dinner — $25; the price of one course at the community college — $280; the value of a stay-at-home Mom – PRICELESS!
Just in time for Mother’s Day, an informal study conducted by Web site Salary.com shows that stay-at-home moms would earn an average of $131,471 annually, including overtime, if they received a paycheck.
A sampling of the 5.4 million stay-at-home mothers were asked to come up with job titles that fit a general description of their daily routines.
The titles — which reflected the most time-consuming parts of their day — include day-care center teacher, van driver, housekeeper, cook, chief executive officer, nurse and general maintenance worker, the survey showed.
Of course, a stay-at-home parent does not work typical office hours. The hypothetical median salary is based on a 100-hour work week and assumes caring for at least two children of school age.
“The importance of this calculation or this estimate is just calling attention to the fact that being a stay-at-home mom is not a cop out, it’s not the woman’s way out of the workforce and it’s not a job of no value,” said Bill Coleman, senior vice president of compensation at Salary.com. “There is a lot of value there, and some would say it’s even priceless.”
Salary.com, which tracks what jobs pay, suggested that the annual base pay for a 40-hour stay-at-home mom’s workweek would be $43,461. Mothers would earn an additional $88,009 a year for 60 hours of overtime each week.
Unfortunately, secular society still feed women a pack of lies that run counter to what God has revealed in the Scriptures about their privileged role. Nancy Leigh DeMoss has done an excellent job exposing those lies in her book, The Lies Women Believe.
Check out this quick overview of the forty lies she debunks. It is helpful to examine the grid of our own thinking to see how we have been compromised by secular thinking. Here are just a few examples that apply to Mother’s Day:
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THE LIE: A career outside the home is more valuable and fulfilling than being a wife and mother.
THE TRUTH: In the will of God, there is no higher, holier calling than to be a wife and mother. God uniquely designed the woman to be a bearer and nurturer of life. There is no greater measure of a woman’s worth or success than the extent to which she serves as the heart of her home. God’s plan is that a woman’s primary attention and efforts should be devoted to ministering to the needs of her husband and children.
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THE LIE: We are not responsible for how our children turn out.
THE TRUTH: Parents have enormous influence in molding the lives of their children by their example, their teaching, and their leadership. Each generation is responsible to pass on to the next the heritage of a heart that knows and walks with God. Parents will give account to God for the spiritual condition of the lives He has entrusted to their care. Each individual is responsible for his own walk and obedience. Regardless of what kind of parents he had, each person will give account to God for his own choices.