A lot of pressure is heaped upon fathers. After all, God the Father—the image that Christians are given in Scripture as "the highest and best leader of all"—is quite a difficult, if not impossible, example to live up to.
Chuck Bentley, CEO of Crown, the largest Christian financial ministry in the world, writes in an article for The Christian Post that husbands and fathers are indeed called by God to sacrifice their own desires for the good of their family.
"This requirement ranks far above money. It involves time, planning, preparation and self-discipline for the goals and good of our loved ones," he says.
However, this responsibility does not include the requirement of making all the money in the family. "The Bible does not indicate that a good husband and father brings home all the income or even the most, but he is required to work for it to the best of his abilities. This is not a punishment," Bentley clarifies.
A husband is required by God to care for the good of all in the family, but Bentley says God never said anything about him having a larger income compared to his wife. There are actually several female figures in the Bible who have contributed work in their households, such as Deborah and Priscilla.
"Glimpses of couples labouring together are woven throughout the scriptures without any condemnation of the family where the wife may have earned more," he says.
However, even though both the husband and wife work to support their family and provide for their loved ones, scripture says that "it is the husband and father who will be held accountable for keeping the family on track."
"A great first step to setting priorities for your family is make sure that what you believe about God's principles for finances aligns with how you actually behave with your finances," says Bentley. "At the end of the day, it's important for both husbands and wives to see the good of the family as greater than any one person's individual desires."
