One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us (Acts 16:14-15).
I went to my local cafe the other day and was served by a young woman-probably about 18 years old would be my guess?
She was wearing a beautiful Karen Walker jewellery “Bow” necklace. I’m also a fan of the Karen Walker jewellery (not an ad) and so the magpie in me noticed her lovely silver chain.
“I like your Karen Walker necklace. I have the “Runaway Girl” but I really like the “Bow”, I said to her.
She perked up. “Oh yeah. It was the one thing I bought with my first ever pay cheque. I’ve had my eye on it for a while”.
Now I know these necklaces are about USD$300 so it probably took her whole coffee shop wages, but I was thrilled for her.
Seeing young women earning their own money and buying nice things for themselves gives me real joy. The independence to value yourself enough to work and to earn builds dignity. There may be times in the future when a woman’s money has to go to childcare and paying mortgages and all the boring stuff. So it’s great to see our young women having some time to explore the world and find themselves with some beautiful objects.
I have a lot to say about the “trad wife” movement and I won’t go into all that today but suffice to say there are about 200 women in the Bible and not many of them fit the 1950’s “trad wife” model. It is a cultural construct and not something we see in Scripture.
Let’s take a look at Lydia in the Book of Acts.
Lydia was a business woman who also hosted a house church in her home. Acts 16 says she was “a dealer in purple cloth” which was the sort worn by royalty. So maybe Lydia was a designer like Karen Walker? She is considered to be the first recorded Christian convert in Europe. The Bible does not mention whether or not Lydia has a husband. What it does state is that she “was a worshiper of God” (Acts 16:14), which is the main thing you need to know.
The fact that she invited others to her home suggests that she was the head of her household and was perhaps a widow or of independent means- but this is adding context that may or may not be there.
You can be a “trad wife” if you choose but don’t think that is your only option as a Christian woman. You could be like Lydia and do great things in the ongoing story of God’s Kingdom. You could make great coffee for Jesus.
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