WWJD By Dr. Richard Youngblood
Question: What would Jesus do or say about the unmarried woman in
California who recently gave birth to eight babies after already having six
children?
Since there is nothing in
the teachings of Jesus or the Bible that directly addresses this question, I
was hesitant to comment on it. What has
been done cannot be undone; and whatever we may think about the wisdom of this
young woman, there are now fourteen precious and innocent children to be
considered. Also, I do not wish to be
judgmental in my observations; the news reports indicate that this young woman
does very much love her children.
Therefore, I pray that mercy and compassion will be given to her and her
children. They will face some exceptional
challenges in the years to come. Having
said this, I do believe we can comment on some things the Bible teaches us that
may relate to this situation.
For example, the Bible shows
that God’s people, the ancient Israelites, viewed children as a blessing from
the Lord. The psalmist said, “Sons
are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the
hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of
them” (Psalm 127:3-5). The inability of a woman to bear a child was
considered a curse even though the birth process often brought death to mother
and/or child (Genesis 35:18; 1 Samuel 1:1-20).
On the other hand, the safe delivery of a child was an occasion for
great joy and celebration (Genesis 21:6; Isaiah 54:1).
Knowing the Jewish attitude toward children, we are
not surprised that Jesus welcomed children when they were brought for him to
lay hands on them (Matthew 19:13-15).
When asked who is the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus answered: “Whoever
humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this
in my name welcomes me. But if anyone
causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better
for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the
depths of the sea” (Matthew
18:4-6).
In the same time period, people of some of the
ancient pagan cultures routinely abandoned unwanted infants on the roadsides or
at garbage dumps. While children were viewed
as necessary for a family’s survival, they were not valued for themselves. Today, that attitude of not valuing children
may result in things like abortion, child abuse and neglect. Perhaps these are modern forms of the same
pagan practice. In contrast, the God of
the Bible values
children and assumes that both a father and mother will be involved in
conceiving and rearing children. In
turn, children are commanded to honor both father and mother, and fathers are
specifically instructed to “bring them up in the training and instruction of
the Lord” (Ephesians 6:1-4; cf. Proverbs 1:8).
Moreover, the instructions
of the Bible also place a responsibility upon the parents to teach their
children to love God and obey his commandments (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). Throughout the Proverbs, parents are warned
of the important need to discipline and train their children while they are
young (Proverbs 22:6, 15). Parents who
fail to fulfill these responsibilities could place their children in danger of
death (Proverbs 19:18). Thus, any
decision to bring children into this world needs to be made in view of the
responsibility to guide them into productive and godly adulthood.
I don’t know how much
consideration Nadia Suleman gave to these matters, but I pray she will somehow
be enabled to guide her children into a godly and productive future. I also pray that others will prayerfully
consider God’s plan for the family and make careful preparation so they can
fulfill these God-given responsibilities no matter how many children may bless
their lives.
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