Each family member is important and each member has a role to play. The roles are important and valuable. A lot of the time we don’t think about what each person brings to the family unit as a whole.
My parents got divorced when I was a young man and I remember the impact that it had on my family. It affects each person and there is a hole that is left in the family dynamic. It can be a lot to take in and process.
There is a picture online that I really like that pictures the dynamics of a family and the roles that everyone has. I want to break down the picture and talk about the roles of each.
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Family: Christ
This is the first umbrella. He covers the entire family. Everything centers on His Word. God’s love covers us and as it covers us individually it covers our family unit. His Word guides our steps and it protects us.
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Family: The Husband
The husband is under Christ, because the husband should be looking to God for his family. In the picture you see that the husband’s role is to protect the family, lead the family and provide for the family. These are all great, but there is a way to do them that is true and genuine.
Protecting the family is a physical, emotional, and spiritual responsibility. Abuse can happen in many forms and the husband’s role is to be be out front protecting the family.
Leading the family is a great responsibility. Leading is never a “do as I say” thing. True leadership is servant leadership. Learning how to help your family achieve their dreams and goals.
Providing for the family is something that we can automatically assume is a financial responsibility.
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Family: The Wife
Following The Husband is The Wife. The wife’s role is to comfort, teach, and nurture. I think that the picture leaves a little to be desired about the role of the wife. While a wife does provide comfort, teach and nurture there is more that she does.
Many of the things that the husband does for the entire family the wife does for the children. She does protect them, she also leads them and provides for them.
There is a lot of fluidity between the husband and wife roleshusband and wife roles. You don’t have to look far to see how they can cover for each other. Every single parent household has a parent that is providing both roles for the family.
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Family: The Children
The child’s role in the family is defined in the picture is to love the parents and obey the parents. While that is true, children should also be able to dream. Children should also challenge their parents, not in a disrespectful way, but in a way that should push the parents to be better.
Discussion Question:
What are your thoughts about the picture of the family?
