In the 1970’s feminist Gloria Steinem popularized the quote “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle”. It represented the growing notion that the traditional role of man being a leader in the home and family was outdated and absurd. Since then we have seen a reduction in the role men play in American family and with that the many social ills that accompany this philosophy. We shouldn’t be surprised with this. All we have to do is look to the Scriptures to see when men don’t take on their God given responsibilities as leaders, tragedy follows. When Adam didn’t take the moral lead when his wife was tempted, it got them kicked out of the garden. When the great man of God Eli didn’t restrain his sons, it caused misery for his family and Israel. Almost without fail when you see families struggling in the Bible, it comes from a man not assuming the role God had intended. It doesn’t matter if it’s in society, the church, or the home, when men don’t take on the responsibility of leadership that God has appointed them, bad things come about!
In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...
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