Dad, are you the head of your household?

I think many men today, even (especially?) Christian men, do not know what it is to be head of their household. They don’t even know that they need to be. In many cases, it is because their fathers did not know either, and they were thus unable to teach their sons. This failure can be traced back to the Garden of Eden.

The serpent tempted Eve. It was she who convinced Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. My point here is not to blame Eve. Rather, I am making the case that Adam failed to fulfill his role as head of the house. It was his primary responsibility to defend his home from danger.

In Genesis 2, we see that God gave Adam—when he was apparently yet alone—the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve was created later. Satan knew that Adam had received the direct command, and thus he did not risk challenging Adam.

The result of that encounter is that the headship of men is today under constant attack. Feminism resents the traditional leadership role of men, and everywhere ridicules it. Hollywood presents men as ruled primarily by their hormones, and incapable of focusing on higher duties. Economic realities often dictate that mom must also earn a paycheck. Too often, even Christian wives think that their paycheck buys some of that headship for themselves. This can result in conflict, and, not infrequently, the abdication of the husband.

The attack also comes from sin within. Whereas God conferred headship on men, they rebel by being lazy and refusing to take the responsibility. They only work in order to buy themselves toys and leisure, shirking their main responsibility to lead their family in all things. Many wives today have stepped into the void, and the result is that the family order is upside down. Dad is emotionally absent, and mom takes on a role not intended for her.
Men, this has to change.

Don’t think even for a minute that I have conquered all in this area and am now preaching to you from unassailable perfection. Far from it. I know the truth of these things more from falling short than from victory.
As difficult as it may be, it is past time for we Christian men to take stock, and then to take steps to re-establish ourselves as the heads of our households. I am not talking about becoming tyrants. I am talking about becoming leaders. As much as Satan, the world, and even our families, may resist it, we need to rebuild this wall—for our families’ sake even more than ours.