I will be the first to admit that I lack leadership skills and not real sure where to even begin to be the leader of my family. I tend to flow toward the pleasing others and being passive, instead of taking a stance and making a decision. I decided to take a deeper look into what it really means to be "the leader" of my family.
To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you. Genesis 3:16 (NKJV)
For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Ephesians 5:23 (NKJV)
Imagine the relationship between Adam and Eve in the garden before sin, before being tempted to take of the forbidden fruit. Truly, without sin we would be able to coexist as husband and wife with the same goals and with the same desire. We’d have no problem loving and yielding to one another. We would seek each other’s desires above our own, and we would see this as the only way to do things.
However, sin did enter the picture....along with pride, selfishness, and other self sins. This is why, I believe, God intended for a woman’s desire should be to her husband, and he would be the ruler over her. Someone has to be the leader...the person that would take responsibility and make the final decisions. For anything to function in a timely manner, there has to a be a decision maker.
In the family, God ordained the man to be the final authority, the one to rule over the family. Since He is the Creator, He had the choice. He created man first. He chose to make covenants with man. Man was what His Son came as. There are many reasons why He could have chosen the man, but He only knows the exact one.
That headship does not come as a master leading a slave, however. It comes with responsibility. Husbands...you are responsible for what your wife does, how she raises your children, and for her growth in the Lord. Christ doesn’t head the church by ordering it around and not taking responsibility for maintaining it, loving it, caring for it, and seeking its best interest!
Jesus laid out leadership for his disciples (the twelve that followed Him physically and us today) that we would lead through serving. He demonstrated this by washing His disciples feet. Husbands, we should not be lords over our wives, but we’re supposed to be caring and serving our wives and seeking the best for the family.
It’s quite the responsibility to be the leader in a Christian home! When I die, I have to stand before the Lord and give account for myself and my family...nobody else can do it for you! It is our responsibility.
