OK, so I chose to have five kids!

That's right I chose to have five kids, not so much the number specifically, but the willingness to be so blessed.  Now please don't misunderstand, I do not mean to imply anything negative towards people who have made other choices, or who have been unable to have children of their own.  I know and love people who couldn't have children or because of difficult pregnancies or difficult circumstances, had to stop having children, that is perfectly OK.  People make their choices for a variety of reasons but not all of them are Biblical.


If you want to reference more of my thoughts on having so many children, please read my first Blog http://1dad5kidsinsane.blogspot.com/2010/05/first-blog-ever.html .


I think it is notable that I have been criticized a lot over the years in various ways for having so many children.  From the radio celebrity who makes a prejudicial comment on his program about irresponsible people who have too many children, to the self-professed comedian who quips "hey, don't you know what causes that?", to close Christian friends who politely take me aside to share their opinions.  The assumption is always the same...you are irresponsible to have so many children.


Let me say first that, um...duh! of course I know what causes it. As for the irresponsible part, first, I did not create these children, God did.  No decision, action, desire, or even prayer on my part caused these children to be born.  God is the cause of my existence and that of all my children and to Him be all the Glory.  If I could change anything in that regard, I wouldn't.  I am grateful for the children He has granted me and all the challenges they present.


It is also true that no effort on my part will change my financial status...I know, thats down right unAmerican...but it is true.  God grants to me all that I have, and while I am to be responsible and be a good steward of the funds He provides, I cannot force through the raise I would desire.  God must give me favor in the sight of my employer or provide other opportunities to earn money. (and I am not idle.)


It has only been in the last 60 years or so that people have lost this understanding with regards to the sovereignty of God in our economic success and our reproductive success.  Prior to that time people didn't talk about reproductive rights, or making these decisions, and looked to God for provision. People either hoped they got pregnant or hoped they didn't and they generally understood that only abstinence was certain to prevent pregnancy.  People did not try nearly as much to take responsibility over the size of their family or when the children would come, and they adjusted their lifestyle to accommodate the family that God blessed them with.  Not that people didn't have ways to influence these things to a certain extent, but it wasn't like it is today where people seem to have forgotten that God is in control of these things.


If you want children  it is simply a medical problem that can be overcome.  If people don't want children it is simply a medical problem to be addressed.


God's Word is clear about His role in all these things.  See below:


Psalm 127
    ¹Unless the LORD builds the house,
         They labor in vain who build it;
         Unless the LORD guards the city,
         The watchman keeps awake in vain.
    ²It is vain for you to rise up early,
         To retire late,
         To eat the bread of painful labors;
         For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.
    ³Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
         The fruit of the womb is a reward.
    ⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
         So are the children of one's youth.
    ⁵How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
         They will not be ashamed
         When they speak with their enemies in the gate.