Men: The Pillar in the Home

Malachi 4:5-6

Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry and the Field Museum of Natural History: two buildings that hold a special place in my heart. As a child I looked forward to family and school trips to the museums, and to the opportunities presented to see the world beyond the streets of my home town of Gary Indiana. From the Field Museum’s Woolly Mammoth to the coal mine at the science museum, I never grew tired of visiting and learning nor have I ever overcome awe felt when standing among the collection of God’s handiwork and of man’s God given ability to grow. Yet as impressed as I was (am) at the exhibits inside, these two buildings were (are) testaments to greatness in their own rights.

I could spend hours just staring at either of the two buildings. Even as a child I loved the large columns worn by the two, especially the ones at the Museum of Science. Originally a part of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the building was first called the Palace of Fine Arts. According to the museum website Philanthropist and Sears, Roebuck and Company chairman Julius Rosenwald pledged $3 million toward the creation of the museum and chose the Palace of Fine Arts for its location. I must say he made a great choice in buildings.




(Photograph taken 9 April 2006. © Jeremy Atherton, 2006. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)


Most of the museum’s columns are based on designs from the Greek Ionic Order. They are tall straight columns with scrolls on top. While these columns are found near the entrance, the museums’ windows have columns which are sculpted into statues of women and I remember trying to imagine what would happen if these columns came to life. I figured they could simply crush anything in their path, sending museum visitors scurrying in every direction. In my mind these statues would chase only those children who were naughty and believe me a large woman made of stone was reason enough to mind your manners. As I think back on that childhood dream (nightmare?) I realize something was missing: men.

While the museums’ columns served wonderfully as pillars in the buildings’ façade, the family was designed by God to have two very different types of pillars: a father and a mother. Yet today I see many families like the one I grew up in, households lead by single/divorced women. Even when the father is present he often falls short, leaving the woman to stand as the major pillar keeping the family from collapsing. Many women today are doing an outstanding job serving as both father and mother to their children. But there is something missing and the Bible warns us that this path is one fraught with many a problem.

I believe Malachi 4:5-6 is both a promise and a warning. The promise comes from God, speaking of how he will send (has sent) one with the offer of repairing the father child relationship. God warns that the land will be cursed if this repair is not made. In examining the state of the family I fear we are already suffering the curse. Our lack of male pillars in the family is already taking its toll on our communities and we need to change course immediately.

I can do nothing about my past but I pledge to stand as a pillar leading my family and my community today. I pledge to follow the Lord that he can use me as a pillar reflecting the glory revealed when he himself stood as a pillar before the nation of Israel. I challenge other Christian men to join me in this pledge. It is time for us to stand for the sakes of our families, our communities, and our nation.