A Challenge to Men

Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that there are many men at First Baptist Church that are faithfully fulfilling their role as the spiritual leader of their home. They take their God-given responsibilities seriously and, in His power, seek to honor Him through their obedience. For this, I am very thankful!

However, as we embark on this journey to become family focused, I feel it is important that I throw out a challenge to the fathers and husbands who consistently neglect their leadership role. The challenge is to stand up and become the Spirit-filled leader of your home! God has commanded it of you and your family needs it from you. This is an unambiguous issue that calls for either obedience or disobedience. As Pastor Phil said in his sermon Sunday night, “Partial obedience is disobedience; to delay is disobedience; selective obedience is not obedience at all, it is only convenience.” So, unless you have made a settled decision to be disobedient to God, you do not have a choice in the matter.

During my years of ministering to families, men have given me scores of reasons for neglecting their role as spiritual leader of their home. Their number one excuse is that they feel inadequate. Any man who reads the Bible enough to know what God requires of husbands and fathers ought to feel inadequate. Men are commanded in Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her., In Ephesians 6:4 Paul says “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” These two verses alone should reveal to a man that unless he is totally dependent upon the power of the Holy Spirit and the resources He provides, he will be a complete failure at this task!

What does it mean to be the spiritual leader of your home? It means you consistently provide a godly example for your family to follow. In your personal walk with the Lord and in your relationship with them, you model what it means to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). You model sacrificial love and putting the needs of others first (Phil. 2:3-4). You encourage them to develop spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible, study, and worship (Phil. 3:17). You exemplify setting priorities and making decisions according to biblical principles by following that rule in your own life (Psalm 119:9). It is very evident that being the spiritual leader of your home is no small undertaking. But, in what God requires of us, He graciously supplies all that we need to accomplish it.

Every husband and father will stand before God some day and give an account for his obedience or disobedience in fulfilling these responsibilities. And may I lovingly say, no excuse will suffice if these responsibilities have been neglected. If you have not already done so, will you take a stand for God in your home? Will you confess your neglect of your role to God, repent of your disobedience, and then become the Spirit-filled leader your family needs? The spiritual health of your family depends upon it!


David