Complimentary Story
In the very first chapter of the Bible, God blessed the first man and woman and told them to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” In Genesis 9, after the flood, God spoke to Noah and his sons, saying: “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” Later in Genesis, we read about how Abraham and Sarah laughed at the idea of bearing children in their old age. But God took Abraham aside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, ‘So shall thy seed be.’” Abraham and Sarah would bear a son and their descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven.And in Genesis 28, God spoke to Jacob: “And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
In Psalm 127, we have this: “...children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of thy youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them.” And in Proverbs 17, “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged.”
The Gospels tell the story of how Jesus loved children. Jesus even used children as a model for adult behavior, telling the people that unless they would humble themselves and become like little children, they would never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
All throughout Scripture, children are shown to be a blessing, not a burden. In the Bible, children are highly valued, they’re to be protected, taught and trained up to know and honor the Lord, and the Scriptures show how children are honored as examples of true faith. Children are blessings, gifts from God, knit together in their mother’s wombs by God Himself and grandchildren are the “icing on the cake” for us old folks.
I read a lot of news articles, as you can imagine. My news feed never stops, and I get my news and information from many different sources.
I also skim the headlines and read some of the stories in our local news. For many years now, I’ve been paying special attention to the obituaries and the birth announcements. What I’ve noticed is that obituaries are published just about every single day. Our older generation is quickly passing away. There are also a lot of people who are dying too young. We even have obituaries on a regular basis for people in their teens, 20s and 30s now.
But while obituaries run daily, and there are usually a dozen or so listed each day, birth announcements only come up occasionally — maybe two or three times a month — and then there are only one or two (and on rare occasions) three babies that have been born. Of all the new babies born, I’d estimate that half are born to unwed parents or to single mothers, with no father listed.
I remember when I was a kid in the 1970s, people were saying they never wanted to have kids. They didn’t want to bring children into a world that was so messed up, so wicked and evil. And it was in 1970 that Hal Lindsey’s “The Late Great Planet Earth” was first published, causing even Christian couples to either delay having children or not have any children at all, as they believed the rapture was imminent.
That was 1970. Those children that were never born would have lived full lives by now, had children of their own and their parents would be proud grandparents. But for so many, it never happened. Fear of the present and fear of the future stopped them from having kids.
Of course, in 1973, abortion became “women’s healthcare” with the passage of Roe v Wade and since then, more than 60 million babies were conceived but mercilessly murdered in the womb. It was also about this time that “birth control” became popular in America. Women chose careers over children. Men chose lust over love and fornication over family. This was also about the time the lies of the Environmentalist cults began, as we were told the Earth had too many humans and we needed to depopulate. They’re still trying to depopulate the Earth of God’s image-bearers today.
And now, at least two generations have passed since Americans have had any real knowledge or reverence for God or His Word. The world has continued to be a scary place, with the mainstream media not only thriving on the “fear porn” and “rage bait” that now passes for “journalism,” but now they’re also working to create chaos and division, as they stoke the fires of hatred and Left wing “activism” that’s destroying our nation.
So young people still have the excuse their grandparents used in the ‘70s...they don’t want to bring children into such a hostile world. Abortion is still just as commonplace as ever, even though anyone with eyes to see is now without excuse because we all know now that abortion has nothing to do with “healthcare,” and is all about murder-for-hire; a quick solution to an “inconvenience,” a “burden” people would rather not have to deal with.
And while many Christian young people started expecting the “rapture” in 1970, they’ve spent the whole of their lives waiting and watching and expecting, and now they’re old, with no children, no grandchildren, no family. No one to carry on their legacy or family name. And still, new generations of Christians are choosing not to have children, because of course, the “rapture” is still imminent, and the world is still violent.
If the truth be told, young people today are choosing to not get married anymore. The U.S. marriage rate has declined significantly — a 25% drop in just the past 25 years.
Those that do get married are choosing not to have children. Instead, they have pets (dogs and cats) and consider them their “children.” Seriously. They do.
As a result of all this, Americans are disappearing. Natural born American citizens have not replaced themselves since the early 1960s, when our fertility rate was around 3.5. By 1976, after the Baby Boom ended, the rate was 1.7 children per couple. The latest figures show less than 1.2.
These figures are for the population as a whole, but there’s a difference among conservative and liberal young people. The Institute for Family Studies recently released a report showing that conservative young adults between the ages of 25 and 35 have not only married but also embraced parenthood. But the study also showed that women who identify as “progressive” or Leftist, are not only significantly less likely to marry but also less likely to embrace any type of religious faith. The study states, “This pattern matters because these same women report markedly higher levels of unhappiness.”
Men who remain single and childless also report markedly higher rates of unhappiness, isolation and loneliness. And the study also stated, “Declining birthrates are most pronounced among the Left and in blue states in particular.” This unhappiness, loneliness, rejection of faith, marriage and family is partly what’s causing young people today to join the ranks of the Leftist rioters and agitators. They’re seeking purpose, fulfillment and social connection, so they become easy targets for those seeking to recruit them into becoming useful “pawns” as Left-wing “activists.”
God’s Word tells us we should marry and then “be fruitful and multiply.” Scripture tells us children are a great blessing from God, not a burden and certainly not a curse. A blessing. And the natural family — one biological man, married to one biological woman, who then bear children and raise them to know, love and honor the Lord in Godly homes — that’s the foundation of a peaceful, productive, fruitful and civil society. Take away the family and the nation crumbles.
This is so basic, I shouldn’t need to explain any further. But for those seeking a purely secular explanation, when a nation’s birth rate falls below the replacement rate (at minimum, 2.1 children per couple), the population inevitably shrinks and ages, and that sets off a chain reaction of social, economic and political effects.
Fewer babies means fewer young people. The largest share of the population becomes elderly. Older populations need more healthcare, social security and pensions, even as fewer workers are paying into those systems. Fewer young adults means labor shortages, and slow (or no) economic growth. As the population ages, suddenly there are fewer taxpayers and many more retirees. Governments have only a few options: raise taxes, cut benefits or increase public debt. In America, we’ve done all three.
Those who have no children also lack traditional support structures in their old age... no kids to care for them. No family gatherings, because there never was a family.
America isn’t alone. Every European country has gone the same way. Birth rates among citizens of every Western nation are now well below replacement levels. Note that these are all formerly Christian nations.... and all have made personal choices to not have as many — if any — children. Maybe this is why so many Western governments have chosen to open their borders to Islamic “migration jihad.” Muslim men have multiple wives and as many children as possible. Meanwhile, in former Christian nations, people choose to have cats and dogs instead of babies. How’s that working for us?
I can see this happening everywhere here in America, and even in my own family. My Mom was one of thirteen children. She had six kids. My wife and I had three. Of my five siblings, altogether, they had six children total. Thankfully, I’m blessed in that all of my own children are being fruitful and multiplying! It’s a real joy to be a grandparent. But I’m sad for those who will never experience this, and as I look at the quickly changing demographics of America now, I wonder if we’ll be able to survive as a nation another fifty years.
So, in this matter of marriage and family, once again, God’s plan for mankind was perfect. He gave us His plan in His written Word. And once again, we’ve ignored it, and now, after more than 60 years, we can find a dozen obituaries a day in our local newspaper, but only 3-5 birth announcements a month. That seems pretty unsustainable...and I’m afraid it’s too late to fix.
