Without the Right to Discipline, There Can Be No Leadership

Like a toothless tiger who can roar, but not bite, is leadership without the authority to discipline. I suppose we can agree, esteemed reader, that a house needs a leader. If you are a Christian, we can probably also agree that this leader should be the husband and father of the household, the man in charge, so to speak. The Bible shows not love for matriarchy. If you are a conservative Christian, we might even agree on the idea that loving your wife and children means to lead them in the way that they should go according to God's standard, and to make sure they do not stray from the path, in short, to disciple your family and to discipline them when necessary.

Modern society, however, wants us to believe that a man who takes charge is a "control freak", and that he needs to attend anger management classes if he takes his role as head of the house seriously. If he dares to not only have ideas about how is house should be run, but if he also sees to it that his ideas are put into practice so that his house runs like a well-oiled machine, society punishes him in every way possible and convinces his family that he has no right to lead. How sad. This is one of the reasons why society is in the state it is in today.

Christian households should be lead by men who are not afraid to lead, to guide, to hold accountable. Such men should have a good idea of the family's goals, long-term and short-term, and should see to it that the house is not divided within itself. They should be concerned about their family's spiritual health as much as its physical and mental health, and about the health of the family economy. This is a great task and a heavy burden, and not many men are willing to take on the responsibility it comes with. If you deny them the right to ensure that the members of the household understand the common goals and work towards them, and be disciplined if their behavior damages the family, you pull the tiger's teeth and make him a spectacle rather than a leader.

Let men be men and don't deny them the tools they need to lead a house well. Even our Lord Jesus Christ will come back to rule with a rod of iron, and not just with suggestions that might or might not be accepted.