Jacob's "Great Resignation" - Part 1

How Do We Define "Work"?

We are only a little over half way through the first book of the Bible (the book of Genesis) when God provides the first account of an employer/employee relationship (Laban and Jacob), and within 3 chapters, God has told Jacob to flee! Yes, that's right: God told Jacob to resign! Not only that, but Jacob left abruptly; in today's words, you might say he left without even turning in a 2-week notice.

But before we delve into Jacob's "Great Resignation" in this 7-part series, it might be helpful to spend some time clarifying a few things about work, in general.

By the time we reach Jacob's story in Genesis 29, people have already been specifically identified as shepherds, farmers (of both crops and livestock), blacksmiths, soldiers, masons, hunters, archers, and even musicians. In the story leading up to Jacob's "Great Resignation", we can see that people - even of the same gender - are wired up differently. Jacob is described as having "a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home." While his twin brother, Esau, is described as a "skillful hunter. ... an outdoorsman." (see Genesis 25:27)

In addition, many biblical characters changed professions over the course of their lifetime. Jesus was trained as a carpenter before He began His earthly ministry. Although God had anointed David to become King, David began his "career" as a shepherd before going to work for King Saul as a musician (the book of Psalms is largely a collection of songs written by David). He later works as a soldier before finally taking his position as King. Some have a tendency to think of changing jobs, or even career paths, as being somehow disloyal or irresponsible, or something unique to the times we live in, but David experienced four career changes, all orchestrated by God, so clearly, that is not necessarily the case.

Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, women did work outside of domestic or child-rearing responsibilities. Rachel (Jacob's wife), is identified as a "shepherd" (see Genesis 29:9), despite the fact that we traditionally think of being a shepherd as more of a "man's" job. It is interesting to me that in the Christian community, it is well known that David was a shepherd, but while Rachel is a pretty well-known female character in the Bible, most people know her as Jacob's wife; very few seem to know that she was a shepherd as well. There are examples throughout the Bible of women in business and ministry, we are just rarely informed about it - the focus typically seems to be on the men.

In addition, men, at times, handled domestic chores we would typically attribute to women. Jacob and Lot both "prepared meals" for family members and/or guests (see Genesis 25:29 and Genesis 19:3).

The more I have read and studied the Bible and come to know the heart of God, the more I think our rigidly defined gender roles and stereotypes have far more to do with our culture and our own personal biases and strongholds, rather than anything biblical.

For the past several decades, we have been engaged in what's come to be known as "The Mommy Wars". Sadly, our culture has, more often than not, put women in a position of having to choose between a career and family. There is this perception that women who choose a career are doing so at the expense of their family, and that women who choose to be "stay-at-home moms" aren't really "working".

When I was in my 20's, I had a full-time career outside of the home. Once I had children in my 30's, I had to constantly be flexible, doing whatever was in the best interests of my family. There were several years when I was a "full-time, stay-at-home mom", but I also volunteered up to 30 hours a week in an unpaid ministry position. There were many years I worked part-time in addition to raising kids, maintaining the household, and caring for 3 aging parents. But by far the hardest I have ever worked was when I found myself as a single mom of 3 teenagers, all with special medical challenges, as well as 3 parents all in their late 80's needing a lot of help with everyday living. I may not have been employed, and I may not have been earning any type of tangible income, but I can tell you without hesitation that I was typically up at 5 am and busy until at least 9 or 10 pm, and I have never worked harder in my life. In my 25 years as a mom, it has always perplexed me that if I were doing the exact same things for strangers and being paid for it, no one would question that I "worked", but when you do those same tasks, unpaid, for family members, people seem to question whether or not you are really "busy" or "working".

Let's be clear here: pretty much all women work! Whether it is inside the home or outside the home, whether it is for themselves, family, or strangers, whether it is paid or unpaid ... whether it is acknowledged, valued, and appreciated, or not. And maintaining something even remotely resembling "work/life balance" seems to be a challenge for almost anyone I know at some point in their lives; male or female, single or married, kids or no kids.

The world would be a much better place if we could all value and appreciate the contributions everyone makes (both men and women), inside the home as well as outside the home, and if we were all able to stop idolizing work (or ministry), as well as so narrowly defining it. Intentionally or unintentionally, we have frequently idolized work at the expense of family. ... And put women (and men) in a position of having to choose between one or the other.

It's time to end the culture wars that have plagued the past 50+ years and acknowledge that the answer to our failure to focus on our families is not remedied by going back to rigidly defined gender roles where men work and women raise children, but by creating a more family friendly workplace that allows both men and women to be more fully present for the people they love.

© I Lift My Voice, 2022.

Click Here to Read Part 2 of Jacob's "Great Resignation"