Childless by Choice

More couples are going "Childless by Choice"

msnbc.com reports on a rising phenomena - people who are decidedly against having children for personal reasons. It shows an alarming departure from the biblical idea that "children are a blessing from the Lord." Whatever logical and personal perspectives it promotes, it is an idea that departs significantly from Christian thinking on the matter. Let me suggest that this is reflective of the church which has rejected the sufficiency of scripture for the building of christian culture. When the church rejects scripture, it loses its saltiness and thereby emboldens the wider culture to do what is right in its own eyes. The article reports that that here is a growing number of couples who do not want children. One woman explains an aspect of why she takes this position,

"Like many of the decisions we make in life, my decision to remain childless was motivated in part by fear—fear of regret. I was afraid to take the risk that I might be a bitter, unhappy, or regretful mom. Given my disinterest in the role of parent, this was a real possibility—particularly when I started hearing from parents who felt compelled to speak out, saying things like “You’re lucky not to have kids. They will break your heart.”

She declares how clearly she understood her desires for a "childfree" life.

"The assumptions people often make about the voluntarily childless troubled me because they didn’t come close to capturing my complex motives. I was not motivated to remain childless because I didn’t like kids or because I wanted to spend my money on cars and diamonds instead of cribs and diapers. I was motivated to be childfree because there was so much about my life that I enjoyed and so much that I still wanted to do, experiences that I felt I would have to delay or forgo if I had children. I remained childless because I valued my freedom to do the things I thought I could do well and happily, things I had dreamed of doing all my life."

This of course is a direct assault against the biblical idea that calls mankind to, "be fruitful and multiply."