Who Does What Around Here?

He created them male and female, and he blessed them. Genesis 5:2

Who is responsible for what around your house? In my home growing up, my father’s domain was the garage, while my mother’s was everything inside the house. However, just down the street lived a family whose dad loved to cook and whose mom liked to mow the lawn each week.

Expectations springing from gender stereotypes can be a real point of contention in any marriage. Do gender stereotypes factor into decisions on who does what around your house? If so, then check out what the Bible says in Galatians 3:28: “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians—you are one in Christ Jesus.”

What freedom this verse gives us men! When we apply the apostle Paul’s teaching to our own homes, we can free ourselves of the expectations that come from long-held gender roles.

Rather than just assuming that you fill certain roles because you are the man, and your wife will fill others because she is the woman, take time to talk to your wife about who does what—and who likes what—better in your home. To get the conversation rolling, talk about these questions: What unspoken, unwritten expectations did both of you bring into your marriage? Of the household chores that need to be done, which ones do you most enjoy and which ones does your wife most enjoy? Which ones do you dislike doing and which ones does she dislike doing? Which ones are you both willing to do, even if you don’t especially like or dislike them?

Once you’ve talked through these questions, delegate tasks and responsibilities according to gifts, talents, and passions rather than stereotypes.

Jesus, teach me to lead my home with wisdom rather than with my notions concerning gender roles.