Written By John Michael Clark
Normal Christian Husband: What does the Bible mean when it says a husband is the “head of his wife?”
Milquetoast Pastor: Well it doesn’t mean you’re some kind of tyrant!!
Normal Christian Husband: Riiight… I didn’t assume that it did… So what DOES it mean?
Milquetoast Pastor: Well it doesn’t mean your wife is some kind of doormat!!
right?
Normal Christian Husband: Riight… I didn’t think that either… but what DOES it actually mean?
Milquetoast Pastor: Well it doesn’t mean that you rule your wife with an iron fist!!
Normal Christian Husband: BRO WHAT DOES IT MEAN THO?!
Milquetoast Pastor: It means be a servant leader.
Normal Christian Husband: Okay… thank you… I’m listening. What does it mean to be a servant leader?
Milquetoast Pastor: It means you love her like Christ loves the Church.
Normal Christian Husband: Ok, cool… and what does that look like, PRACTICALLY?
Milquetoast Pastor: *blank stare*
Normal Christian Husband: Hello? Pastor Melvin?
Milquetoast Pastor: Oh, um… it looks like washing the dishes.
Normal Christian Husband: *taking notes* Okay… now we’re getting somewhere. What else?
Milquetoast Pastor: You know, just die to self!
Normal Christian Husband: So, like, die to protect her?
Milquetoast Pastor: Yes, but not only that!! You need to wake up every single day of your life and look for ways to die in your own soul so that hers can thrive! Serve her and ask her what she needs from you, and even if it’s unreasonable, do it, because that’s what love really does! Eventually, you should be totally dead inside, a hollow shell of a man, then you’ll be like Jesus!!! And meee!!!
Normal Christian Husband: Dude, this has been so helpful. I always thought all the verses in the New Testament that mentioned a husband’s authority over his wife, and a wife’s respect for, and submission to her husband meant that she was like, his helper, and that he was to actually provide godly direction for their marriage and family.
But now I see that all those verses actually mean the exact opposite of that!
Milquetoast Pastor: Now you get it! I think you might be called to the ministry!
“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.”
Ephesians 5:23
***Lori here: I think a good thing to ponder is how Christ leads His Church. Does He cater to all of her whims and wants, or does He do what He knows is best? Does He only serve the Church, or does He lead and guide her too?
What does “Head of the Wife” Mean?