In Ephesians 5:28-29, Paul instructs husbands to love their wives as they love their own bodies. It is not normal for someone to abuse themselves. Generally we do things to care for ourselves. We make sure that we are adequately fed and that we are not harmed. In the same manner, a husband is to both nourish and to cherish his wife.<\/p>\n
The word \u201cnourish\u201d means to feed, support, maintain, or to care for another. In other words, it is the husband\u2019s responsibility to see that his wife and family are adequately provided for. \u201cBut if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever<\/i>\u201d (I Timothy 5:8). These verses do not mean that the husband is to be sole wage earner in a family, or even the main wage earner. However, it does place the responsibility for seeing that the family has sufficient income on the shoulders of the husband.<\/p>\n
Such provisions cannot be gained by placing yourself first. I am sure there are a lot of fun and interesting things to do that must be placed on the back burner because your wife and children need caring provisions. I might dream of walking the Appalachian Trail from one end to the other for three months, but that will not put food on my family\u2019s table. When you assume the role of a husband, you take on the responsibility to see that there is sufficient income to support your wife and children, even if it means giving up your dreams.<\/p>\n
But it takes more than food and money to nourish a family. In Ephesians 6:4, Paul said, \u201cFathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.<\/i>\u201d The phrase \u201cbring them up\u201d is from the same Greek word for \u201cnourish.\u201d To bring up children properly, a father must provide for their spiritual and emotional well-being. A father must provide his children discipline \u2013 both positive and negative \u2013 so that they can mature to responsible adults. He must teach them the Lord\u2019s ways so they will one day reach heaven. You can\u2019t do these things while working 80 hour weeks away from your home. A husband and father must balance his time to bring the optimal nourishment to his dependents.<\/p>\n
Just as a husband might not bring in all the income, the husband doesn\u2019t do all the training. The teaching of children is a shared responsibility between the husband and the wife (Proverbs 6:20). However, come judgment day the fathers will give an accounting to God as to how well they provided for the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of their families.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPreparation for a Lifetime\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nourish In Ephesians 5:28-29, Paul instructs husbands to love their wives as they love their own bodies. It is not normal for someone to abuse themselves. Generally we do things to care for ourselves. We make sure that we are adequately fed and that we are not harmed. In the same manner, a husband is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":8138,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8174","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8166,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/preparation-for-a-lifetime\/leadership\/","url_meta":{"origin":8174,"position":0},"title":"Leadership","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Leadership The leadership in a family is perhaps the most controversial topic in today\u2019s society. There is a natural tendency to think that the person in charge has the most fun. 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It is unfortunate that this\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8170,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/preparation-for-a-lifetime\/love\/","url_meta":{"origin":8174,"position":2},"title":"Love","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Love A husband is also responsible for providing love to his wife (Ephesians 5:25). The word translated love in this passage is the Greek word\u00a0agape.\u00a0Agape\u00a0is a love that serves, or a devotion to the one being loved. The example given is the love Christ had for the church. Jesus loved\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8227,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/preparation-for-a-lifetime\/finances\/","url_meta":{"origin":8174,"position":3},"title":"Finances","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Finances Money does not come from an endless supply and it is surprising how many young couples are unaware of its limits. Too often parents supply their children with the basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing. They often give their children many extras, such as a car, gas allowances,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8205,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/preparation-for-a-lifetime\/excellence\/","url_meta":{"origin":8174,"position":4},"title":"Excellence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Excellence It is the wife\u2019s responsibility to bring honor and glory to her family. If she does her duty well, she will be a crown to her husband. If she fails, she will destroy her husband\u2019s health and reputation (Proverbs 12:4). Even outside of the marriage, the woman is charged\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70458,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/bid-the-older-women-train-the-young-women\/train-the-young-women-to-love-their-husbands-and-to-be-submissive\/","url_meta":{"origin":8174,"position":5},"title":"Train the Young Women to Love Their Husbands and to be Submissive","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Lesson #2 Train the Young Women to Love Their Husbands and to be Submissive (Titus 2:4-5) by Barbara Roush In Genesis 2:18 and the following verses, we learn of God's original role for women. God said, \"It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8174\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}