Understanding the Purpose and Power of Men

The Male as Provider and Protector

financial problems to come to them instead of sitting down and planning for the needs of their families five or ten years in advance. A provider anticipates needs before they arrive. A loving husband is always thinking about what his wife is going to need tomorrow, and he plans for it today. This is the kind of Husband that Jesus is for His bride, the church. Before you or I were created, He prepared for our salvation. He is “the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world” (Rev. 13:8). Jesus made arrangements for our need because He cares deeply for us. He anticipated and met our need before it arose. That is what caring is all about. If a man‘s planning nature isn‘t guided by the Spir it of Christ, it can become destructive rather than constructive. That‘s when you see men planning crimes and taking a d vantage of women. They plan these things out — sometimes for a long time. They usually don‘t just happen.

The Needs of a Provider

Built into the male‘s desire to work and provide is his need to give. We learned earlier that the male was designed essentially as a giver and the female essentially as a receiver.

The male needs someone to receive what he has to give. If he has no one to give to, this affects how he feels about himself as a man. Many women today think of themselves as independent, but they need to learn to receive from their hus bands, fiancés, or boyfriends. They need to learn what it means to men to be able to give to them — and they should allow

Built into

the male’s

desire to

work and

provide is

his need

to give.

them to do it. Being a provider can sometimes be just a role for some men, but giving is a function related to a male‘s d e sign and need. God designed the male to gain satisfaction from both working and providing. When he‘s able to do th ese two things, he‘s a happy man. If you want to undermine a man‘s nature, then provide for him instead of letting him provide. That may sound strange, because some men just want to

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