“Bringing home the bacon” is what we called it in my generation, and perhaps a bit beyond. The implication here is; that men had a role to play as husband and father. There was not competition, nor was there a slight to women who had to work. It was assumed that we all have a role; I suppose viewed as a natural one; Every culture has it’s hunters and nurturers.

Today, it is the subject of great discussion as to who is committed to do what. There is significant evidence that men are choosing to be less responsible as providers. Depression and drugs have crept into the picture , and the are registering new and disturbingly lower levels of testosterone.

Women have, as the result, been moving into a dominant role and have statistically become better students, and actually many are receiving similar wages and taking over key, high level positions in the marketplace. In essence, they are bringing home a higher percentage of the bacon because of the quality of their labors.

Through all of this the institution of marriage has begun to suffer, as has that of parenthood.

The question may be one of; which came first, the chicken or the egg. Was there first an apparent male abdication (purposeful or unintended) or has there just been some kind of a female uprising in the form of women’s rights. And, has it weakened the role of the male in the household?

I think it is the former… and so do the so-called experts. I do not know who said this, but he, or she is right. “They do not make men the way they used to”  And, just who would “they ” be? The answer may well be society.

Society, and many schools have been downplaying women’s gift of managing the home, and performing the many thankless tasks of making it a place of love and learning; A place where children can grow to be responsible and mature in their respect for how families must function to bring true and lasting purpose into every members life.

Things are not as simple as dad plowing the fields or wrestling with machinery, or mom just cooking and cleaning, or ironing shirts. But, the requirement for dedication  to some of the other seemingly simple things like tutoring and monitoring, with honest assessments….. the lives of children in this more complex world….. cannot be usurped or assigned to others.

Can we live today in a a separate-in-focus, but equal world? Can we dismiss the idea of dominance, and upgrade our thinking to being part of a larger and requisite foundation that is necessary to support marriage and the family? More than ever, women must manage a stable an nurturing environment as only they can.

The stones are in our hands, and they are often heavy. More often than not, it will take two to carefully lift them into place.

Let no one claim superiority in the project. The victory is in the HOUSE that spans the generation….  and in those children who go forward and do likewise.

One to be treasured by God and History