“We have been taught that women are the main nurturers, while men are to be ‘strong and silent.’ But the Bible calls men to be cultivators, and that includes a significant emphasis on tending the hearts of those given into our charge. A husband is called to nurture his wife emotionally and spiritually. This is not a side show to his calling as a husband but is fundamental and central to his masculine calling in marriage. Likewise, a father is called to be intentional about plowing up and nurturing the hearts of his children. Any counselor who has dealt with childhood issues can tell you that few things are more injurious to a child than emotional distance from his or her father. There is a reason why so many people are hung up over their relationship with their fathers: God has given the primary calling of emotional and spiritual nurture to men, and many of us fail to do it well.”
Richard D. Phillips, The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men (Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2010), 14.
