The Power of Leadership in Marriage

For an organization to operate at peak, ONE specific individual must have the final word on any and all subjects (which explains why committees are so generally ineffective). If that state of affairs does not exist—if it is unclear who has the final word in the organization—then every decision has the potential of becoming a “jump ball,” up for grabs to the person who “jumps” the highest. That person is often synonymous with “that individual who becomes the most dramatically emotional.” The individual in question jumps the highest either overtly (e.g., becoming angry and yelling or crying) or covertly (e.g., pouting and other forms of passive manipulation).

In a family, the natural state of things—natural defined as “consistent with God’s design as clearly set forth in His Word”—is for the husband/father to lead and the wife/mother to willingly defer to his leadership. In a family, then, the husband/father is to have the final word on EVERYTHING.