The other thing I find interesting is that we often see men go on wild rants about a "loss of traditional values" and that women "don't know their place" anymore. But to me, it all depends on how the couple together defines God's roles as husband and wife.
Sometimes a man wanting to "have the authority" is actually a thinly disguised ego trip blanketed by "God's command."
I'll give you an example. I've been working since I was 11 years old. From the start, my parents had 2 unbreakable rules: whether the money was earned or a gift, first of all, you had to tithe off it. Second, you had to save a part of it. Even if I got $10 for my birthday, I had to follow those two rules.
And to this day, I still follow them. When I was 18 I was engaged to someone who was convinced that "as the man", he would have the say about finances, even though he couldn't balance a checkbook and spent everything he had in his pocket (later after we had parted ways, he ran into a bit of financial trouble, to say the least.)
Now, I'm no financial genius, but if the wife is better with keeping the bills paid, wisdom would seem to dictate that she should be allowed to work in the areas she's stronger at. A Godly man, I would think, would want to let her talents shine and put them to good use for the both of them.
However, I've found this is a very, very hard thing for men. I've had 4 long-term relationships and in each one, the man refused to believe that a woman could manage money. I'm sure that as the "head of the relationship", they felt they should be the ultimate authority, even though they had absolutely no responsibility or knowledge in that area. I put up with it when I was younger.
Today, I could never marry someone who tried to tell me, "Tithing is stupid and unnecessary--we're not going to be doing that," or "We don't have to save quite so much. I want to spend it all while we have it." It's just not how I was brought up and these are things I was taught by my very traditional parents. The guys who thought they could override my financial management then went on to future financial ruin themselves because they had no qualms about spending money like water or living on credit.
Again, I'm certainly no Warren Buffet, but masculine pride, partially under the guise of "traditional values", kept them from believing that a woman could have an inkling of knowing how to keep our ledger in the black.
I often wonder if this is why many of us are single and may be for the rest of our lives--we live a certain way and have been living it for so long, why would we WANT to change, especially if someone proposed a plan that seems downright stupid, or opposite, to the way we've been living?
Sometimes a man wanting to "have the authority" is actually a thinly disguised ego trip blanketed by "God's command."
I'll give you an example. I've been working since I was 11 years old. From the start, my parents had 2 unbreakable rules: whether the money was earned or a gift, first of all, you had to tithe off it. Second, you had to save a part of it. Even if I got $10 for my birthday, I had to follow those two rules.
And to this day, I still follow them. When I was 18 I was engaged to someone who was convinced that "as the man", he would have the say about finances, even though he couldn't balance a checkbook and spent everything he had in his pocket (later after we had parted ways, he ran into a bit of financial trouble, to say the least.)
Now, I'm no financial genius, but if the wife is better with keeping the bills paid, wisdom would seem to dictate that she should be allowed to work in the areas she's stronger at. A Godly man, I would think, would want to let her talents shine and put them to good use for the both of them.
However, I've found this is a very, very hard thing for men. I've had 4 long-term relationships and in each one, the man refused to believe that a woman could manage money. I'm sure that as the "head of the relationship", they felt they should be the ultimate authority, even though they had absolutely no responsibility or knowledge in that area. I put up with it when I was younger.
Today, I could never marry someone who tried to tell me, "Tithing is stupid and unnecessary--we're not going to be doing that," or "We don't have to save quite so much. I want to spend it all while we have it." It's just not how I was brought up and these are things I was taught by my very traditional parents. The guys who thought they could override my financial management then went on to future financial ruin themselves because they had no qualms about spending money like water or living on credit.
Again, I'm certainly no Warren Buffet, but masculine pride, partially under the guise of "traditional values", kept them from believing that a woman could have an inkling of knowing how to keep our ledger in the black.
I often wonder if this is why many of us are single and may be for the rest of our lives--we live a certain way and have been living it for so long, why would we WANT to change, especially if someone proposed a plan that seems downright stupid, or opposite, to the way we've been living?
, but honestly the only reason I haven't posted in that thread is because, if you take out the "calling him Master" part, the original post honestly describes my own parents. 
