Confession: I am lazy.

I have a confession to make.

I struggle with contributing to household chores equally.

For some this may seem silly, but it is not. This is a problem that I struggle with. A huge part of why this is a problem is because it is inconsistent with the words I espouse both online and in person. I claim to be a feminist and egalitarian and yet I allow my laziness to dictate how I spend my time. I go on rants all about how there should not be gender roles, but then I procrastinate and neglect chores around the house until my wife does them for me.

This is not okay. This is not something that should have happened. But, like any bad habit...this can be fixed. Sometimes it is extreme measures that I need to do in order to change an old habit and create a new one. Today as I reflected on this issue of laziness I think of the countless, often over-looked, Scriptures that tackle this very thing. I can think of Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 12:27, Proverbs 26:15, Matthew 25:26, and Hebrews 6:12 to name a few. If I truly am against traditional gender roles and I truly want to dismantle the patriarchy then I need to make a change and let my actions reflect my words.

I share all of this not to brag or ask for pity, but I share this for accountability. As my friends and family, please keep me accountable. I want what I say and believe to mean something.

My solution is this: Using this time of Lent, for the next 40 days, I am going to respond in the opposite extreme of what I have been doing. I told my wife that I will be her househusband for the next 40 days. By this phrase, I mean that I will do all of the chores. I will also not complain about it. To help with accountability I am keeping a "complaint jar" and for every complaint I share during these 40 days I will put a penny in the jar. My hope is that this helps me better understand all of the chores I have been neglecting and helps me to balance out into an actual equal contributor. I also think this is worth doing because there are many couples out there where the man has the expectation that the woman should do all of the chores and my hope is that by switching the roles it will show just how ridiculous and unbiblical this approach really is.

So here's to 40 days of laundry, dishes, vacuuming, and cleaning. Here's to finally pulling more than my weight!

Please help me in this journey.