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Childless by Choice in America: Is the Church Making the Same Decision by Not Making Disciples?
When we look at the present abortion statistics, 50 million children have been aborted since the 1973 passing of Roe v. Wade. Has the world chosen to be childless by choice? When CBS revealed that the birth rate in America is not only declining, couples are deciding to ultimately become “childless by choice”.
When CBS interviewed Jonathan Last, author of What to Expect when No One’s Expecting, he highlights the average cost of what it takes to raise a child. “It’s become nominally expensive to have a child right now in America. When you add up all the costs it’s about $1.1 Million to have a child”. He continues to emphasize, “That’s a lot of money to spend on, you know, something, in 15 years is going to tell you it hates you.”
Reportedly, this idea to nix children from the family nucleus has caused a social group to be started. It’s called, “No Kidding!”, and it’s for couples who have chosen to become ‘childless by choice’. When one woman is asked if she is selfish for choosing this route, she responds by saying, “I’d rather make a mistake and not have a child then have a child and find out that that’s a mistake.”On the greater level of these choices, the birth rate in America has reached a new low of 1.9. The significance of this number is the minimum a society must maintain to “keep the population stable”, otherwise known as the replacement rate is 2.1. If we continue at this rate Last explains, “We’ll have an entire country that looks like Florida; a whole lot of older people who need support and who need government assistance…” Where did it come from that we have gotten so selfish that we are no longer willing to lay down our lives for someone else?
The reality is this, no one can enter into a relationship thinking that it’s all about you. If one does, it is only a matter of time before reality sets in. This is especially true regarding children. It will cause an imminent struggle if one refuses to focus on their children as children demand attention. It becomes a battle of wills. This is all part of raising children to become adults. This is what parenting is all about.
On multiple occasions, Jesus spoke to His disciples with these simple words, “Follow Me”. He laid down His life for us and expects that we will do the same for others. When we make a conscious decision to receive Jesus Christ into our hearts, and leave the selfish ways of living for ourselves and the world, we are born into the Kingdom. This is essentially what Jesus was talking about when speaking to Nicodemus in John 3.
If we are to look at a woman who has chosen not to have children because of the possibility of it being “a mistake” or someone concerned about being told “I hate you” 15 years later, we have to put the attention on ourselves. This is the same as someone who has said yes to Jesus Christ deciding not to go out and tell other people the Good News of Jesus Christ. According the George Barna, ‘the Church is presently spending $1.5 Million per baptized believer.’ Why are we spending that kind of money? This figure is even greater than what the world is averaging the cost to be.
We look at the heightened amounts of abortion that have been committed since 1973, but again, what about the Church? A person can be aborted in the Lord. Someone can refuse not to teach them the ways of the Lord. They can be choked out with help and guidance. They can be led astray by wrong teachings. This causes another question to be asked, “Is the world childless by choice because the Church is childless by choice?” James 4:4 reveals, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Is the world simply reflecting the Church? We institutionalize our kids when they are young and they institutionalize us when we’re old.
People say they don’t dislike God, but when it comes to following His teachings towards their marriage, towards their authority or walking out His teachings, they will express dislike towards those; and then continue to express that “they talk to God all the time”. This cannot be. We as God’s people have turned our backs on God. If Jesus paid the ultimate price of giving Himself for us to have eternal life, we cannot think that there will not be a cost when leading others to Christ as well.
It is imperative that we learn how to be the Church again. This is what Vine Seminars are all about. Being the Church is not as difficult as religion has made it out to be; but it is also not as frivolous as others have portrayed it to be either. We have to learn what it means to be children of God. We also must learn what it means to be spiritual parents so that others can be raised up in the things of Christ. It’s time to break away from the mindset of selfishness and understand that family is a good thing and it is natural. Hear the full conversation, the importance of family in America, family in the Church, and so much more. Also shared in this segment: birth rates, babies, toddlers, children, Medicare, generations, Great Britain, immigration, discipleship, and relationships. Greg and John shared in this segment.
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