Call to Arms – The Paradox of Leading to Follow

Did Christ ever ask his disciples (read: church) where he/they should go, or what he/they should do?  Did he ever ask them to teach him?  I don’t believe so…if so, I am struggling to find where.  Christ was a leader, the leader.  He led his disciples and guided them in the ways they should go.  He demonstrated to them how they should act towards themselves, towards other believers, and even towards non-believers.

After being called, his disciples made the choice to fervently follow him.  They desired to be with him, do what he was doing, and learn what he was teaching – not necessarily the other way around.  He loved them by choosing and doing what was best for them, by giving them his best.  Christ surrendered himself in the sense of servanthood (e.g. he chose to wash their feet) but that was not surrendering his leadership per se.  It was a demonstration of love; specifically of humility, meekness, and how to love Christ’s way.  Never once did he surrender his headship as the leader, the guide, or the decision maker.

We, as Christian men, are called to love our wives as Christ loved the church; to be leaders in our community, our homes, and especially in our families.

In today’s society this truth is more important than ever.  Too many men today take this so-called “servant leadership” to the extreme, and end up surrendering their entire leadership role and responsibility over to their wives.  I don’t even know where to begin on how wrong this is on so many levels…Of course, we must be careful not to take it to the other extreme of leadership by “iron fist”…

Another truth in today’s society is (facetiously) that blame has to fall elsewhere. The statement (read: excuse) could be made that female empowerment or the feminist movement is partially to blame for men becoming passive and complacent.  Another argument may be that the laws are becoming too strict for men to stand up and be men anymore.  We hear all sorts of stories about fathers disciplining their children and being arrested for it…

The simple truth is that, regardless of the excuse, this passivity is wrong.

Christ didn’t instruct us to lead by asking what to do or where to go.  We’re not told to ask our children how they think they should be raised or whether or not discipline is in order.  We are called to lead our families.  It’s time, for men to become men again and stop trying to pass this responsibility off.  Stand up to the challenge of following the only one that we, as Men of God, should follow…Christ.

Lead to follow…