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Theologian Response
Myron is a staunch and thoroughly orthodox churchman who rules over his family with an iron fist. Although not poor, he practices extensive economies, especially the conservation of heating fuel. It is a source of great satisfaction to his frugal nature that the temperature in the living room stays close to the freezing point. The rest of the house stays only a few degrees warmer.
There is just enough heat to keep the pipes from bursting but not enough to preserve the health of his wife. Susan is not one to complain, since Myron insists that God has appointed him to decide what is best for the family. He bases this conviction on a misinterpretation of the biblical statement that the husband is head of the wife (Eph 5:23) but he totally fails to understand the injunction in the same passage to nourish and cherish her (v. 28-29).
Periodically Susan ends up in the hospital or nursing home where she is given the care that she needs to get well. After her return home, the visiting nurses find that Myron obstructs and objects to the cost of every effort they make to create a livable environment and to make Susan comfortable. The children are no longer at home as they have long since fled Myron’s harshness. Her friends are not allowed in the house, which is securely locked whenever he goes out, leaving Susan lying sick in bed with no one to help her.
Myron enjoys a position of significant responsibility at a highly influential church and is considered an exemplary member. Yet the Bible says that the one who does not provide for his own family has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Tim. 5:8)
Dr. Catherine Clark Kroeger, President, Peace and Safety in the Christian Home (PASCH)
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