In a culture that increasingly despises life and children, we hear myths about “overpopulation” and the heavy “liability” that children are, all intended to ease our consciences and justify our own wisdom, contrary to the Creator’s.
And like so many other things, we’re dead wrong, God is right, as always, and He promises one thing:
“Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you…” Proverbs 1:24-26
It’s not speculation, but fact, as already seen in other countries, that our rejection of life as a society is going to have serious consequences. Ironically, those who will feel it the most are those who are most anti-child, depending on the government (retirement) to “be there” for them in their elderly years, most of whom will have few or no progeny to care for them, or their progeny will be too busy pursing their dreams, having been brought up without the sense of responsibility for caring for others.
This is a short, excellent clip explaining why:
If you have trouble viewing the video, try this link: What to Expect When No One’s Expecting
23 comments
WOW!!! This was excellent! I love to hear “facts” and “science”, etc… to back up what we already know! I want to send it to people and say, “See, we were right!” Know what I mean? Thank you for finding this gem, Kelly! Have a blessed weekend and keep these great posts coming!
Facts and science to back up what we already knew — EXACTLY!!! It’s shocking how many people blindly believe the overpopulation myth despite not being able to provide any evidence to back it up! And we are the morons for not buying it.
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As scripture says: “He traps the wise in the snare of their own cleverness”” ~ 1 Cor. 3:19
Don’t ya love it?
Where’s the fact and science? I see none, as usual.
Lo–I’ts all in his book. You have to read it.
Kelly, I have not been able to watch the short video yet, but for now, just a quick question: what about countries like India?
Ironically, “child-free” people counting on the government do not realize that it’s the taxpayers that make the government, and taxpayers well, need to be born and raised. There is a flaw in the “child-free” logic on any level.
Indeed, Dennis, there is.
Well Kelly – you never fail to deliver! I guess all those women complaining that they have a God given right to work outside of the home should watch this and spend some major time in thought & prayer. I honestly feel sorry for our children (and their children) who are going to end up carrying these people on their backs when they are old & gray. The very same people complaining today about their *right* to work and their *right* to choose to have/not have children and their *right* to send them to Public School – those are the people that are one day going to be complaining that there is not enough money to support them as they are accustomed to. I can see it now – they’ll be and complaining that they don’t have what they want/need because there aren’t enough workers paying taxes to support them in their retirement. And our poor kids/grandkids are going to REALLY be overworked and underpaid by the time this rolls around. We’re going to end up with our country even more screwed up than it already is. And I didn’t think that was possible. Guess I was wrong!
Sorry – that should read…”they’ll be complaining” – not “they’ll be and complaining” I REALLY need to proof read! 😉
Interestingly, I ran across this quote today…it’s fitting:
“If you women continue to demand your choice to work, you will so upset the economy of this country that the time will come when you will not have a choice. You will have to work.”
~ Helen Andelin
VERY fitting – and a great quote! 🙂
For the past month I have been reading this book. Slowly, digesting it. It’s so obvious and it’s amazing how people are so blind. Most people I know have pets but most people I know have no children, or maybe one child or 2!
My grandmother is 84 years old. She had 3 children. Her husband and son died a few years back and now both of her daughters (my Mom is one of them) take turns taking care of her. She is not sick or disabled. But her daughters are there for her to provide love, support or assistance of any kind that she may need. She has traveled to many places and this is her 3rd time to the US. She is from Brazil.
Both of her daughters had 4 children each. Her son had only 2. Each of her grandchildren that have children have one or 2 only! I am the ONLY grandchild who has 4 children! I am the second oldest one. I would love to have more and everyone thinks I am crazy! They call me Superwoman in Brazil because I have 4 kids that I homeschool. I am Superwoman because I garden, make my own soap, stay home with my children, make homemade meals and love my husband. Now how crazy is that??!!!
While talking to my Grandmother the other day (she is here visiting for the next 3 months) while tending to my garden, I asked her how different was I from what she used to do when she was a young Mom with kids at home. She did not have technology like we do today. No disposable diapers. No washing machine, or a freezer. No air conditioning. No drive thru. NO telephone or TV, or computer games, or DVDs to distract or babysit the children. Definitely no ME time, or babysitters. She was an orphan of mother and father, so she grew up in a catholic boarding school. Married at 17 y.o. and stayed with her husband until he died over 5 years ago. She was one faithful, patient, dedicated tough woman. She had no help but God’s.
Me superwoman?? I don’t think so. She, however, is my greatest example and the reason why I do most of what I do today.
I think we need to look to the past. Our own, the world’s history and what God has done in the past to find clues in how to live NOW. We are proud people, too stubborn to look to the ancient ways to find help and wisdom. We are paying a high price for being stupidly proud.
what I think it will happen is that people from countries with higher population densities and birth rates will populate countries with lower ones.
The last I heard, the birthrate of non-immigrant U. S. families is about 1.95 chidren/woman (family?). It’s only the through the somewhat larger families of recent immigrants that we are currently at replacement rate, 2.1. So in a way, it seems like we should welcome highly skilled immigrants with open arms. On the other hand, I believe many immigrants initially have a higher birthrate than the general U.S. population, but after a couple of generations they tend to decrease toward the mean birthrate.
My own parents had 4 children; thus far there are 10 grandchildren, with the possibility of probably two more, so let’s say a total of 12 optimistically, a birthrate of 3.0.
So far there are 7 great-grandchildren (all from the four daughters one of my sisters and her husband, who themselves had a family of 6 children). This sister’s family will likely skew the average, but I’d be surprised if the total number of great-grandchildren reached more than replacement rate (a fraction over 25).
Fascinating stuff! The statistics that the religious have higher replacement rates than non-religious….interesting!!!
I’m going to be one of those “dissenting” comments, as a Christian and happily child-free woman. I’d like to address what I believe to be some miss-steps in this post, and hopefully provide some kind of education. I’m hoping that what I say won’t fall on deaf ears.
First, I’d like to say that I’m undecided about the under population/over population issue in general. I think that statistics can be manipulated to fit either position, and I personally question any conclusion.
1. You seem to be confusing “anti-child” with child-free people. Just because I/other child-free couples don’t want children (this should be taken at face value), doesn’t mean that we are anti-child. It only means that we don’t want children of our own, for various reasons that are incredibly personal to each couple. I work with and enjoy my niece, and also enjoy working with children in my church’s nursery. That said, often times I find that child-free couples think through their decision *not* to have children, more than couples who decide to have children.
2. I also believe that it’s an incorrect assumption that all people who don’t have children will depend completely on the government for their retirement, and to “take care of them when they get old” and basically suck the system dry. While you weren’t saying that directly, it was obviously inferred.
3. It’s a myth that, just because one has children, that they will be there to take care of their parents when they are elderly. As you noted, “most of whom will have few or no progeny to care for them, or their progeny will be too busy pursing their dreams, having been brought up without the sense of responsibility for caring for others…”Even when raising children correctly, it’s possible that they won’t be around to take care of their parents when they (the parents) become elderly. Also, it’s a poor argument to make for having children.
4. On the subject of the video, I think a couple thoughts:
a. Statistics can be manipulated easily, to fit either side of this argument.
b. I’m not going to have kids so I can populate the planet.
c. It was hard for me to take the “robot” part of this seriously. I don’t think that a majority of child-free people believe that there will be robots to take care of us, and have never had this brought up in any child-free circles I associate with. I certainly don’t believe there will be a robot to take care of me.
d. Lastly, on the video, it’s insulting to me that the newscaster puts people who don’t want children into the category of “not valuing/loving life.” Nothing could be further from the truth. First, you can have a great value and love for life without having children. Secondly, as I Christian, I do strongly believe that children are a blessing from the Lord. Does that mean I have to want them? No.
5. Also, it seems like you are lumping people who choose not to have children, with those that *cannot* have children, which comes off as insensitive, even though you may not mean for it to be. Even though I don’t want my own, my heart goes out to women who desire children, but are unable to have them.
6. This is my last point: I’d love a dog and a latte, thanks!
Hope,
Respectfully, nothing in your comment was the least bit “educating”. The video is a brief summary of the author’s book, making a clear and documented point that we ALREADY are seeing the effects of too few children on a culture. It’s not debatable, or an opinion anymore. That was the point of the post. Regardless of why you have chosen childlessness, it’s an epidemic that will drastically effect us in the coming years. That’s simply a reality we must deal with.
My point is that when we reject a biblical principle, we will suffer the consequences. You can choose childlessness–or choose to have the one or two children that will suit your preferences, but it doesn’t change the natural consequences of our “wisdom” that opposes God’s (and no, I was in no way referring to couples who, in God’s providence, are infertile; I’ve made that clear repeatedly).
Without all the caveats of “if and when” we should prevent children, the general, CLEAR directive, both from Scripture and written in our bodies, is that children are a natural and necessary part of life. Most of us have disregarded that and as a result, there will be a price to pay.
Furthermore, for Christians, there is a much greater consequence at stake. God specified that “He desires godly offspring” from married couples. It’s the first wave of “making disciples”. It is, in essence, our Kingdom responsibility to receive children whom we raise for the glory of God, both for this life and for the one to come. A “heritage from the Lord” is a serious thing to reject on purpose.
Thanks for the response! (Seriously , I like it when bloggers are active in the comments.) But, I think we will have to agree to disagree for now. Have a good day! 🙂
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