Picture: Counsel #16 — Outside the Box CR 192.1
Gender roles in marriage have often been shaped more by culture than by Christ. Society tends to paint extremes where men lead everything while women serve silently. Despite what culture says, Scripture offers a more meaningful and balanced vision. CR 192.2
Biblical roles are not about who earns more, who cooks, or who gets to drive during a family vacation. Ephesians 5 calls husbands to lead like Christ - with sacrificial love - and invites wives to respond with respect and strength, not submission deep-rooted in fear. Christ’s design for marriage elevates both spouses to serve one another in ways that reflect God’s character, not in society’s gender expectations. A Christ-centered home doesn’t require husbands to be the loudest voice or the wife to be the primary caregiver. It requires both people to ask, “How can I best love, serve, and support you and our family in this season?” Sometimes that means the wife leads in prayer, or the husband stays home with the kids. God is not confined by cultural templates, so never be ashamed to lead in the way the Lord ordains.[199] https://egwwritings.org/read?panels=p14754.4&index=0 CR 192.3
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 NIV CR 192.4
“Each member of the church is a member of the one body of Christ.” Ellen White in Pastoral Ministry, p. 101 CR 192.5
Reflect: How do you see traditional markers of "gender roles" often overshadowing the biblical call to mutual service and sacrificial love in Christian marriages? CR 192.6
