Editor's Note | Editor's Note |
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The Christian Male Role It's the battle of the ages... In this corner weighing in at 300 pounds, all the way from "mid-westernville, USA..." The current "head of household..." Husband! And in this corner, weighing in at "none of your business..." undefeated in just about every fight they ever had... Wife!
So who is the head of the household? Man? Woman? Should our attitude be egalitarian (men and women are equal, and any role is not defined by gender?) Complementarian (men and women are equal, but different and complimentary in their respective roles in the household?) Totalitarian (Man is, need I say more?) What does the bible say?
Ephesians 5 22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh." 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Doesn't sound like i'll be getting fed grapes and fanned with palm frauns any time soon...
What I gather from this passage is not so much "who gets to be the boss" but "who gets to bear the burden of responsibility."
We are to care for our wives. We are to love our wives. We are to give ourselves up for her to make her holy through the cleansing power of the Word and present her holy and blameless.
More than who is the "head of household." I find it more productive to ask who is the "servant of the household" Christ gave His entire life unto death for His Bride, the Church. Our sin was not His fault, but He took it on Himself. There are things in our marriage that aren't our fault, but I believe we will need to answer to God as to the state of our household and share in the blame.
I believe that a wife who is secure in the fact that her husband is willing to make decisions, make things right and accept the consequences in the face of turmoil does not need to be controlling.
I believe that a wife who is loved by a husband who has no tolerance for pornography in the household, but instead, turns is complete attentions to his wife, does not need constant reassurance from him or other men.
I believe that a wife who believes that her husband will take responsbility, will have no problem showing him the respect he so deeply desires.
In Christ's Service, Ryan
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My wife navigates you through the treacherous waters of "women-speak" during the month of Love and gives you some ideas for romancing your wife / girlfriend with cheap creative date ideas...
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