Family Decisions

I do not agree with the common view of among Christians that men should make decisions and women should go along. My advice to couples (which I am still learning) is that husbands and wives should seek consensus on major decisions that will shape their lives. That should not be hard if they both want to do God's will, and they are both listening to his Spirit.

Husbands should listen to their wives, because wives often have insights that a man would miss. Adam did not sin by listening to Eve. His was his failure to check her suggestion with God. But I presume that Adam had already hardened his heart, before Eve spoke or her suggestion would not have appealed to him.

Abigail is a woman that spoke wisdom to a husband that he needed to hear (1 Sam 25). Nabal is a warning to husbands who do not like what their wife is saying. God could be speaking through her.

Small day to day decisions need to be made quickly. They don't need to be complicated by a complex decision-making process. They can be made by the person closest to hand and the greatest interest.