God created man. He saw that it was not good for man to be alone and searched for a suitable companion. When none was found, he fashioned woman from the flesh of the man and the two were joined together (Gen. 2:18-24). God ordained marriage. In doing so, He gave both the husband and the wife the roles that for which they were best suited.
The Husband/Father. God has given man the role of provider. What are some things that married men are required to provide? First, men are to provide material necessities. "But 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" (1 Tim. 5:8). Men who will not work are not fulfilling their role, and thus should not be allowed to eat (2 Thess. 3:10). Second, men are to provide leadership. The husband is the head of the home. "For the husband is head of the wife..." (Eph. 5:23). This role is not about power and control, but about responsibility. Third, the husband is to provide love. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her" (Eph. 5:25). This is to be a sacrificial love, putting the wife before self. Finally, fathers are to provide training and admonition for their children. "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4).
The Wife/Mother. First, the wife is to be in subjection to her husband. "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord" (Eph. 5:22). This makes sense, seeing that God has given the role of leadership to the husband. Subjection is a hard word for many people to accept, yet all of us practice subjection in various aspects of our lives. The simplest meaning of "submit" is to yield, to give the right of way to another. When we drive our cars into an intersection bearing a "yield" sign, we understand that we are to allow the other vehicles to have the right of way. This does not mean that the people in the other car are more important than we are, but that this is the role we are to play in order for traffic to move smoothly and safely. The same thing is true in the home. The wife is not inferior. She just has a different role.
Second, the wife is to take care of the home. "That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed" (Titus 2:4-5). This does not mean that she is a slave. Neither does it mean that she is forbidden by God to work outside the home, or that she should not expect her husband and children to help around the house. However, it does mean that she is responsible for the functioning of her home.
The Children. "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' which is the first commandment with promise: 'that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth'" (Eph. 6:1-3). Children are not out of the scope of God's authority. God expects them to obey and honor their parents. If they can learn to do so, they have cultivated a trait (respecting authority) that will serve them well throughout life.
Children honor their parents by the way they talk and act. "A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him" (Prov. 17:25). One's behavior is a reflection of the home in which he was raised. Children also honor their parents by listening to them and respecting their wishes. Grown children continue to honor their parents by caring for them in their old age (1 Tim. 5:4, 16).
The teaching of the Bible concerning marriage and the home may continue to be ridiculed and rejected in favor of modern trends, but I ask one question: How well are these non-Biblical ideas working for us? Many homes today are broken and dysfunctional. God created the home. He knows how it works best.