This was a great thought from Voddie Baucham’s book What Must He Be…If He Wants to Marry My Daughter on preparing young men for marriage (via Pure Church).
Imagine a family who did not prepare their children for college. This would be unthinkable in today’s world. Everyone prepares their child for an academic future. Day-care programs boast about the head start they will give children in their “academic careers.” We buy houses in neighborhoods with “the best schools.” Beyond that, many families place their children in expensive preparatory schools, enduring tremendous financial burdens, incurring debt, and commuting hours each day in an effort to give their children an edge in that all-important race for the apex of academia.
However, little thought is given to preparing our sons to be husbands. Thus, they meander through life without the skills or mind-set necessary to play this most important role until one day, having met “the one,” they pop the question, set a date, and—in the rarest of cases—go to the pastor to learn everything they need to know about being the priest, prophet, provider, and protector of a household in four one-hour sessions. In the words of that great theologian Dr. Phil, “How’s that workin’ for ya?”
via Pure Church: Are We Preparing Boys and Young Men to Be Husbands and Fathers?.
As I am involved in ministering to nearly and newly married couples, I am acutely aware of the deficiency of many men, myself included, in effective spiritual leadership of the home. I am grateful for the mentors in my life who have shaped my marriage, and pray that I will set an example of being a godly, biblical husband (Ephesians 5:25-33) for my son and the men to whom I am called to minister.
Leave a Reply