Marriage. It’s an equal partnership, right? No worries! We’ll work it all out somehow! No one needs to be in charge!
Actually, that is a major problem in our society today. No one likes to be told what to do, and no one wants to be in charge. We see it not just in marriages, either. There are households where the children are really the ones in charge. There are companies where no one takes charge, but everyone is quick to point the finger at someone else when blame time comes around.
God set things up differently. God the Father is in charge. Jesus willingly submitted to the Father in all things. There is no confusion about Who is in charge.
Seth Godin posted a blog article “Why joint ventures fail so often”. While written for the business world, it rings so true in so many areas. He writes, “The joint part, though, is where the real problem arises.”
His suggestion is to work a licensing deal so that only one person is in charge at a time.
It is not a license for husbands to rule over their household ruthlessly, but the Biblical model is quite clear.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
~ 1Co 11:3
Yes, someone is in charge. Someone breaks all ties. Yet, that person is accountable to Christ, Who in turn is accountable to God the Father.
Frankly, we husbands in general have a lot yet to learn from Christ at being true Christian leaders of our homes. We need to learn it before our own day of accounting to Christ comes.