It grips my heart with anguish every time…every time a professing Christian exhibits the opposite of God’s heart concerning children…the overt result of a world-conditioned-mind, rather than a mind that has sought to know the ways of God. “Shew me Thy ways, O Lord, teach me Thy paths.” This was the cry of David’s heart, a man after God’s own heart. Oh shouldn’t it be ours too!
Anyone with a large family (3 or more children) has experienced the comments, sometimes sheer curiosity, sometimes sheer ridicule. No matter the intention, the reactions of others reveal a thinking process that has so evolved from God’s original design for families, that His purpose is hardly acknowledged in the Christian community. While my heart does ache for the many of His people who have not accepted children as the blessing He meant for them in their own families, perhaps the greater grief comes from their refusal to embrace His design and support those who do. As I often ponder the negative reactions of Christians to large families, I keep hearing the words of Scripture, and I wonder on what authority they have based their religion. God’s Word is so explicit about God’s heart toward children. Consider the following and really ponder the meaning of these words:
“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Psalm 127:3
If I had an apple tree that bore only 1 or 2 apples, I would not consider that to be a healthy tree, or by any means one that was a “reward”. The “fruit of the womb” implies proliferation and an abundance of reproduction.
“As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man: so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them:” Psalm 127 4, 5
If I were a warrior, I would certainly want more than an arrow or two in my quiver. The Bible says the man who has lots of children will be happy. That is such a different thought than the one given by most people today!
“Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive pants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.” Psalm 128:3, 4Olive plants, fruitful vines--again the picture is fertility and abundant reproduction. This is considered a GOOD thing by the Lord!
“And did not he make them [husband and wife] one…and why one? Because he desires godly offspring.” Malachi 2:15
Yes, one of the main purposes of marriage is to produce children.
So, if I am a Christian, do I not desire to have the mind of Christ? Do I not ask with David, “Lord, teach me thy ways!”? And if so, what must my response be to those who have allowed God to be sovereign over the area of children in their lives? Can I uphold the name of Christ on one hand, and blaspheme his Word on the other? (“That the older women may teach the younger women to love their husbands and children…so that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:4,5) If God said be fruitful and multiply, and have lots of children, why on earth are His people being criticized on this point by His own people?!
A further debate lies in the very invention, promotion and outcome of current birth control methods. God did not invent birth control; we did. And when we did, were we not saying, in essence: “God, when you created our bodies, you messed up. See, I am wise enough to know that I am not supposed to have a bunch of children. But you forgot to create a shut-off valve. So, in my superior wisdom, I must intervene and correct that which you failed to do.” You see, birth control and medicine are two opposite entities. Medicine is used for promoting health and life, a practice Jesus himself condoned. God did not create sickness and death, they are a result of sin. Birth control, on the other hand, is a preventer of life; it seeks to impair what was not broken. It takes a perfect creation, a normal function, and alters it to prevent it from functioning according to its design.
Birth control was first promoted by a radical, diabolical feminist named Margaret Sanger, who was determined to “release women from the bondage of motherhood”. She also believed that monogamy in marriage was ridiculous and thought women should be able to do what they wanted, when they wanted, and with whom they wanted. Well, she came a long way in accomplishing that purpose through the widely accepted use of artificial birth control methods. The rate of infidelity and divorce has soared since that time around 1960 (A tragedy that was predicted and strongly fought against by the church during the campaign of Sanger). (Another note about the birth control pill: most oral contraceptives have multiple strategies for preventing children, including an abortafacient method that sometimes allows conception, but prevents the fertilized embryo from attaching itself to the uterine wall, resulting in a spontaneous abortion unbeknownst to the mother.)
While it is not my intention to debate the moral ethics surrounding birth control, I felt compelled to share those few things in order to explain how far from God’s thinking we have gotten. It is not only normal but expected for a Christian to practice the above methods of child-prevention (Sanger’s idea). However, if a couple decides to believe what the Scriptures say, and accept the fruit of the womb as His reward (God’s idea), it is often treated as something akin to criminal activity. This bizarre, paradox running rampant right here in the church!
Regardless of your beliefs on the use of preventing children, if you are a believer, you cannot escape the truth about children written in God’s word. To offer anything other than support to the family not practicing birth control is anti-scriptural and is absolutely unfounded reasoning. Time or culture has not changed God’s word. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He still loves children and so must we.
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