Choosing To Be Childless

  • Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…” 
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  • Genesis 28:3 “And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people;” 

I remember my future wife (Amy) and I walking and discussing whether we were going to have children or not. My mom had counseled me to not hinder God’s natural process, and Amy had been counseled otherwise. I even remember various Christians arguing over God’s commands to “be fruitful and multiply” throughout scripture. Eventually, I started asking myself what every Christian is supposed to ask himself for everything in life: What does God say about the matter? You know, it really amazes me both how easy the Christian life is when everything we do is based on God’s Word, and at the same time, how many Christians don’t do that! Once I looked at both sides and both arguments (“birth control” vs. “be fruitful and multiply”), it became quickly clear where the scripture stood. I honestly have yet to see one Scripture where God recommends “birth control” while at the same time I have seen numerous Scriptures emphasizing “be fruitful and multiply!” 

From the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:22), God made and commanded His creation to “be fruitful and multiply.” When God created Adam and Eve (Gen. 1:27), He commanded mankind to also “be fruitful, and multiply.” With God’s chosen people, Israel, God commanded them (Gen. 35:11) to “be fruitful and multiply,” and God promised to bless them in that endeavor (Gen. 28:3). When sin came into the picture, though, Satan worked his mischief to the contrary. God is Life. Satan and sin is death (Rom. 6:23). If God commanded “be fruitful,” Satan deceptively counsels, “Don’t have children. Give it some time, thought, and planning.” If God commands “multiply,” Satan subtly works to decrease man’s population with made-up lies like “overpopulation.” (The lie of overpopulation works really well in stuffed urban metropolises, but not in sparse rural areas which actually make up most of earth’s land mass!) 

In accordance to the Prince of this world’s desires (Satan – Eph. 2:2), mankind has tried having the pleasure of marriage without the responsibility. And this area of childbearing is no different. Cultures and kingdoms centered around pleasure like Egypt would use various means to enjoy pleasure without the “burden” of producing children. In present times, the world is consumed with pleasure, and now we also have many technologies to stop or hinder the production of children. 

Sadly, many in Christendom have accepted Satan’s lie. While Satan grows false religions like Islam through big families, he stumps Christianity’s widespread influence with lies of foregoing children. Remember: God is life; Satan is death. God is “multiply” mankind; Satan is “decrease” mankind. God is birth; Satan is the grave. Christians honestly have no part in decreasing but in multiplying just like God commanded. While some Christians hold to their opinions of “birth control” (“Well, I think it would be best to wait and grow spiritually and financially.”), the Bible still holds firmly to “be fruitful and multiply.” God made a woman to conceive; man invented methods to stop this. Man comes up with seemingly deep counsels like “Prepare yourself and your spouse first for kids,” and yet, the average parent who waited to have kids is no better a parent than the average parent who didn’t wait. Why? Because preparation is a mindset not the number of years one has been married. The average parent today does not properly, biblically prepare for children whether they have children immediately or years into their marriage. The present day “Planned Parenthood” has truly been falsely termed. Satan craftily gave the lost the concept of “planned parenthood” to murder babies while at the same time deceiving believers into accepting “planned parenthood” to forego and ration child bearing and disobey God’s “be fruitful and multiply.” Prepare your teenagers now to financially and spiritually take care of their children by the time they are married! 

In the end, the answer is never man’s methods and opinions or views. The answer even with childbearing is faith in God’s Word and dependence upon God’s Son!