“Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.”
- Psalm 127:3
I believe this with all my heart. I have 3 blessings myself, and they have brought me great joy. Children bring richness to life that neither fame, fortune, nor career can give. I wouldn’t trade being Mom for any other job.
So when does this STOP being a blessing? Like all of God’s blessings, it’s when it goes outside of His will.
From the very beginning, with the very first couple, God established His will for man and woman: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24. Marriage is very important to God; we see this throughout Scripture. Adultery was condemned from the start – it’s the 7th commandment. When outlining the job description for pastors, the apostle Paul put “husband of one wife” before ruling his own house well and keeping children in submission (1 Timothy 3:2-6). It’s clear in God’s word that His intention was for children to be raised by two married & committed parents. Unfortunately, at times single parenthood is unavoidable. God knows and understands this. That’s why widows and orphans are given special consideration, because God realizes how much more difficult raising a child by one parent can be (see James 1:27). But what about purposefully having children outside of God’s perfect will?
When I first heard of the woman who gave birth to octuplets, I thought, “Wow, this woman put her life in danger to protect the lives of these babies.” Then it was reported she already has 6 children at home. “She’s trusting the Lord in her perilous situation,” I said, and praised what I believed to be her faith. Then the story changed. Her mother told the press that her daughter is unmarried, has had all her children by in-vitro fertilization, and is “obsessed with having children.” Children who are being deprived of knowing and having a relationship with a daddy. Fourteen of them. Is this how God intended families to be?
I’m not against people wanting children. As I said, I have three and they are each a blessing. And I’m not against couples seeking medical help when they find they can’t have a child, though these procedures are painful & at times dangerous. I understand wanting to have children so bad that you’d go through anything to have them. But is it responsible to bring children into the world without a spouse? More important, is it fair to the child (or children, in this case)? And most important of all, is it approved by God?
To be honest, one thing that really troubled me when I read this story is the unfairness of the laws in our country. My husband and I have been together over 20 years. I worked until recently, and my husband is a hard working man who makes a good income, enough to support our family. Our children are healthy, intelligent, well adjusted, and I have always received compliments on how polite and helpful they are. My kids would agree that, while we’re certainly not perfect, we’ve done the best job we can at raising them. Yet if my husband and I were to try to adopt a child, we’d have to go through a background check as rigorous as what Hillary Clinton went through to become Secretary of State (or perhaps even more so). We would have to take a 6 month parenting course, have psychological evaluations, our home would be inspected to make sure it’s kid safe, and finally, at the end of 9-12 months, we would find out if we are deemed suitable to adopt a child. Yet an unmarried woman decides she wants to get in-vitro fertilization multiple times, and it’s done because it’s her body and she can do with it whatever she wants. No financial check, no psychological exams, no verification of any kind. Am I the only one that has a problem with this? Maybe lawmakers will look at this case and see that there’s something wrong with the laws here. Or maybe I’m giving them too much credit.
The fruit of the womb is a reward.”
- Psalm 127:3
I believe this with all my heart. I have 3 blessings myself, and they have brought me great joy. Children bring richness to life that neither fame, fortune, nor career can give. I wouldn’t trade being Mom for any other job.
So when does this STOP being a blessing? Like all of God’s blessings, it’s when it goes outside of His will.
From the very beginning, with the very first couple, God established His will for man and woman: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24. Marriage is very important to God; we see this throughout Scripture. Adultery was condemned from the start – it’s the 7th commandment. When outlining the job description for pastors, the apostle Paul put “husband of one wife” before ruling his own house well and keeping children in submission (1 Timothy 3:2-6). It’s clear in God’s word that His intention was for children to be raised by two married & committed parents. Unfortunately, at times single parenthood is unavoidable. God knows and understands this. That’s why widows and orphans are given special consideration, because God realizes how much more difficult raising a child by one parent can be (see James 1:27). But what about purposefully having children outside of God’s perfect will?
When I first heard of the woman who gave birth to octuplets, I thought, “Wow, this woman put her life in danger to protect the lives of these babies.” Then it was reported she already has 6 children at home. “She’s trusting the Lord in her perilous situation,” I said, and praised what I believed to be her faith. Then the story changed. Her mother told the press that her daughter is unmarried, has had all her children by in-vitro fertilization, and is “obsessed with having children.” Children who are being deprived of knowing and having a relationship with a daddy. Fourteen of them. Is this how God intended families to be?
I’m not against people wanting children. As I said, I have three and they are each a blessing. And I’m not against couples seeking medical help when they find they can’t have a child, though these procedures are painful & at times dangerous. I understand wanting to have children so bad that you’d go through anything to have them. But is it responsible to bring children into the world without a spouse? More important, is it fair to the child (or children, in this case)? And most important of all, is it approved by God?
To be honest, one thing that really troubled me when I read this story is the unfairness of the laws in our country. My husband and I have been together over 20 years. I worked until recently, and my husband is a hard working man who makes a good income, enough to support our family. Our children are healthy, intelligent, well adjusted, and I have always received compliments on how polite and helpful they are. My kids would agree that, while we’re certainly not perfect, we’ve done the best job we can at raising them. Yet if my husband and I were to try to adopt a child, we’d have to go through a background check as rigorous as what Hillary Clinton went through to become Secretary of State (or perhaps even more so). We would have to take a 6 month parenting course, have psychological evaluations, our home would be inspected to make sure it’s kid safe, and finally, at the end of 9-12 months, we would find out if we are deemed suitable to adopt a child. Yet an unmarried woman decides she wants to get in-vitro fertilization multiple times, and it’s done because it’s her body and she can do with it whatever she wants. No financial check, no psychological exams, no verification of any kind. Am I the only one that has a problem with this? Maybe lawmakers will look at this case and see that there’s something wrong with the laws here. Or maybe I’m giving them too much credit.
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