Well I don’t know how relevant this is in terms of the “man making the major decisions”.
I think though this is more about the man taking moral and spiritual leadership and being the one to lead in sacrifice for his family.
Statistically, the husband/father’s participation in religious activities is the single biggest indicator of whether the kids will have religious faith. I’d say that’s a pretty big endorsement of the male role in leading his family to Christ.
The OP asked how, specifically, a man acts as “Head of the Household.”
I agree with you that a man should lead in spiritual activities, but we can’t isolate “spiritual” from “practical.” A man who is very faith-filled and takes the lead in spiritual activities in the family, but refuses to “lead” the family in financial matters ( e.g., working multiple jobs if necessary to make sure the bills get paid, making the final decision about whether the family should move to a different neighborhood or even a different area of the country or world, etc.) will be disrespected by his wife and children.
A very good example of this is Louisa May Alcott’s family. Her father, Bronson Alcott, was a “pastor” or “spiritual leader” who led his wife and four daughters into all kinds of activities and situations (e.g., spiritual 'communities" that lived together), many of which resulted in the family nearly starving to death trying to live entirely off the land (Mr. Alcott was “above” doing manual labor, and the girls ended up doing most of the heavy lifting and actual work in their family). I have read LMA’s “March family trilogy” hundreds of times over my life, and I have come to the conclusion that although they are wonderfully wholesome and uplifting, they also depict men in a very unflattering and disparaging way. The trilogy is LMA’s way of expressing utter disdain for her “spiritual” father who refused to lead his family in practical matters like finances, earning money, etc.
Again, the man MAY make the decision to pass certain “big” decisions to his wife, and that’s just fine. He’s still the leader of the household, and good leaders delegate, especially if someone else knows more about the situation they do!
I am NOT saying that the man is the KING and the wife is his loyal subject and the children his minions! Nope, not a t all!
Yes, a man who is “head of the household” is the KING, but his wife is the QUEEN, and his children are princes and princesses! The family is “royal,” and everyone has a share of that royalty.
In any organization, there has to be ONE PERSON who is charged with making the Big Decisions, the Final Decisions. Even if there is a Board of Directors, or Executive Board, or whatever–there will still be one person who is the Ultimate Authority.
Of course, what this means is that the glory for a good decision will go to that one person, but…the disasters caused by a bad decision will also be blamed on that one person. Being in charge of the decisions is NOT the gravy job!
I guess my best testimony for this arrangement in marriage is our 40 years so far, and still going strong.
