Why is the husband the head of the wife?
God sovereignly mandated the husband-wife relationship so that the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church. This headship is not slavery or tyranny; it is patterned on Christ's loving care for His body, the church, and should benefit the wife.
Les explains that God has still mandated the husband-wife relationship so that the husband is the head of the wife. That does not mean the wife is a gopher, a slave girl, or that the husband can lord over her. The next verse equates the relationship: as the Lord is to the church, the husband is to the wife, and the wife is to the husband as the church, the body of Christ, is to the Lord. Verse 22 says wives submit to their own husbands as unto the Lord, and verse 23 gives the reason: the eternal sovereign God mandated that the husband is head of the wife even as Christ is head of the church. The analogy is that being in the body of Christ with Christ as head is not uncomfortable or miserable, because He has purest love, gives the best, and came for abundant life. The husband-wife relationship should be the same, with the husband living totally to the benefit of his wife.