The Provider

We have this idea that men should be the provider of the family. But what does this mean? So often it means a 50's ideal of being a breadwinner. Of working hard at a stable job and meeting the needs of your family by providing resources (money, stability, a house, etc.). 

But what a sad vision that is; being a provider is about so much more.

 Recently, my brother-in-law was pulling some near all-nighters trying to keep his biggest client happy, but in the middle of one of those all-nighters, his daughter got sick. 

So what did he do?

He put work aside, and he cared for her. 

He provided for her needs.

The 50's ideal of provision would focus on the job. That's what breadwinning is. And that's what allowed fathers to come home to their families after work and sit on the couch, ignoring everyone, because they had already fulfilled the job requirements of "provider."

Working hard to earn money for your family is part of being a provider, but it's not the only part. Having a well-paying job isn't the biggest indicator of a good provider, but so many people feel inadequate as a provider because they don't have the highest paying job that can bring about the greatest amount of stuff.

We want to have everything we desire. We want the house, the car, the impulse buy, whatever it may be that we like the best. And we want the money to choose whatever we want without regulation. We want the money to not have to make sacrifices.

But a God who gave us our every whim would only be a God of stuff. The comfort that God would bring us would only be a lack of the tension caused from not having things we want. And that comfort can only ever be short-lived and surface level.

Being a provider is about so much more.

Can you imagine a world where God falls under the definition of provider that we've so long let reign? Where all your logistical concerns were met? You had a home. You had money for groceries and school and whatever other needs you might have. You didn't have to worry about these things because God provided them. But God didn't hold you when you cried. He didn't rejoice with you when you celebrated. He wasn't present in your life.

The type of provider we so often want is the type of provider who would leave us miserable. Because we all know that our needs extend far beyond the physical. 

None of us want the 50's ideal of a father, and thankfully, that is not who God is or wants us to be either.

I'm so thankful that God's definition of provision is so much fuller than what we've reduced it to. And I hope that we as a culture continue to broaden our view of what it means to provide for those we love.