In this five minute video, Pastor Matt Chandler says something I’ve become increasingly convinced of over the last twenty years. One of my deepest concerns is to see men, young men in particular, who have become increasingly content with doing little in life, sometimes resulting in their wives becoming their caregiver and provider and, effectively, the sole parent of their children.
Some men do not work, but rely on their wives to provide for the family. Many others work relatively short hours in non-demanding jobs. But regardless of how hard they work at our jobs, husbands and fathers, when they come home, need to realize the hard work and challenges of their wives, as the mother of their children, and suck it up and serve their children and wives. They don’t need to waste the evening watching TV or playing video games or endlessly surfing the internet. God has entrusted our wives and children to our care—we are their resident spiritual shepherds.
One of the great ironies of the feminist movement has been, in the name of empowerment, to pressure women to take on the role of both father/provider and mother/caregiver. They end up doing nearly everything.
Husbands who once would have been ashamed that their wives are the primary providers for their home now feel the freedom to hang out at coffee shops and watch TV with their buddies, be addicted to video games, and, sometimes, internet pornography. Too much free time is unhealthy. As Matt Chandler says, “A bored man is a dangerous man.”
Brothers, let’s not waste our lives and fail our wives and children. Let’s rise to the occasion and man-up, to the glory of Jesus, in a culture that has emasculated men and convinced us that our wives and children will do fine without our leadership and hard work.
Photo by James Garcia via Unsplash
