Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:4-7)

Some men have used a misunderstanding of biblical headship to make servants of their spouses and slaves of their children. The goal of such wrongheaded headship is to get everyone to serve the interests of the husband and father. 

But the Bible insists that men love their wives and children, and defines such love as not insisting on one’s own way. Christ calls husbands to lead their families with the patience and kindness that requires daily sacrifice to reflect the heart and work of our Savior. 

Such love is not envious, boastful, or proud. It seeks the good of others more than personal ease or gain. We are each called to love, as God in Christ loved us. Such love is the path to others’ blessing and ours as well. Through such love Christ becomes real to us by becoming a blessing through us. 

Prayer:

Lord, as I seek to serve you this day, help me also to serve my family. May the reality of you become a greater blessing to me, as I become a greater reflection of the blessing you are in the way I lead those I love.