Single Christian girls - Good reasons to work for pay, Part 2

Monday, August 7, 2017

{Joanna Gaines is well known for being a full-time businesswoman and employer in addition to being a wife & mother}

I think we're all agreed that single Christian girls waste their time and talents whenever they pine away for a spouse and live in "waiting mode," filling their time with meaningless tasks and busywork. Life doesn't start at marriage, and there is no guarantee that every single girl will marry, so now is the time to do what we are called to do.

So should a girl primarily volunteer her talents? Or should she use her talents in work that pays her money?

1. Out of her earnings, she blesses needy people by paying them to work for her

Single Christian girls who have strategically earned income reach a financial point where they have enough money to pay another person to do some of what they've been doing, and to teach that person a good skill. Which is smart. And helpful to others.

Every girl has tasks she could farm out: whether it is her ironing, her accounting, her housecleaning responsibilities, her vehicle maintenance... I have friends who hire personal shoppers for their children's clothing, and friends who hire tailors and event planners and gardeners and dog trainers and horse care people.

The more a single girl can delegate to others for pay, the more she is released from mundane tasks and/or tasks she doesn't enjoy doing, and the more she is freed to do the work she was created to do. Her schedule is freed up for tasks of greater long-term importance.

She is also a lot happier because she is blessing others. She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

And anytime she has hired help, she has opportunities to disciple that person. When she gives a helper instructions and feedback, she is helping them to grow, and when she shows them kindness and patience, she is showing them the love of Christ without preaching at them.

2. She blesses younger girls by being an example of industry, contentment, financial stewardship, and long-term planning

Hopefully this is true of her: she manages her time and money well, and she has an excellent attitude and great life principles that really stand out in her millennial world.

Every day is an investment in her future. She is fulfilled now, but she is looking ahead to whatever God has planned for her, and she is readying herself for that work. A wise single Christian girl intentionally learns valuable on-the-job skills that will help her to be a better person, friend, and if she marries, a wife and mother. In other words, she is using her talents to gain more talents.

Even if she never marries, she is doing now those tasks that will make her future meaningful. She is certainly not hiding her talents. And she is certainly not biding her time with busywork jobs until she hits some magical older age at which time she will regroup and become the person she was called to be. In other words, she's not waiting to learn the skills of her calling, nor is she waiting to invest her talents in something much bigger.

Too many single girls settle for "lemonade stand" jobs when they are wired by God to do so much more.

My mentor constantly asks me if my current sources of income reflect the work I would do if I knew I wasn't going to get married for another ten years. It's a good question. And, she asks me, am I actively engaged in being a worker in His Kingdom? If I am, my work will spark joy in me.

Yes, it is true that a single girl can be an example to younger girls just by being purposeful with good character and joy in her work, whether she is paid or not. A paid job simply gives a girl more opportunities to bless others with her earnings and her example as she manages those earnings.

Next post: Obvious objections to single Christian girls working for pay

 
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