“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127:3-5)
In contrast to the self-centered and murderous norms of modern society, children are declared to be a heritage of the Lord, and so they are to be desired. Children are not to be slaughtered in the womb, nor prohibited from being conceived through acts of imposed celibacy, for that is a doctrine of the devil (1 Tim. 4:3).
While birth control is not condemned in Scripture, the presence of children in a household is designed to bring joy. Of course there are hardships and difficulties in rearing children, One mother quipped, “If child rearing was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called labor.” Comedian Ray Romano said, “The more I go through parenting, the more I say I owe my mother an apology.”
Despite hardships, the Bible teaches that children are a blessing. Children are a blessing because of the pleasure they bring as they develop from infancy into mature adults. Who has not cringed at the antics of children, or smiled at their spontaneous, but honest comments? After a boy turned in his homework, the teacher said, “This is terrible! How can one person make so many mistakes?” “One didn’t,” the boy answered. “My dad helped me.”
As children mature, their sense of humor becomes more sophisticated. After studying the power of subliminal suggestion, a college student wrote to his father.
Dear Dad,
$chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. I $imply can’t think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you.
Love,
Your $on
His father replied.
Dear Son,
I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh.
Love,
Dad
Children are a blessing because of the pride they bring to the heart of a parent. Watching a child blossom, and become skilled, and gifted, is an unspeakable source of pride.
Children are a blessing because of the practical help they can eventually be. As children grow in strength and knowledge they are able to help the parents with household duties to perform. When properly motived, children can be a source of good help. So, there are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire someone to do it, or forbid your children to do it. In their maturity many children are able to help meet the needs of parents as the cycle of life progresses, and the care givers become those who need care.
The Devil comes to take the truth away that children are a blessing of God. The message of the Devil is that unplanned children are a punishment. In March, 2008, at a town hall meeting in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on a Saturday afternoon, former US President Obama said that he does not want his daughter punished with a baby “if they make a mistake”. The success of messaging by The Enemy is demonstrable, for many children in America are under assault. Planned Parenthood openly advertises their willingness to kill babies in order to make money to fund their godless, and heartless organization and support a lavish lifestyle for its executives, a lifestyle that includes Lamborghinis (Washington Post, April 26, 2017). This includes selling of the body parts of unborn babies. After a baby is born, many are abused through neglect, or physical assault. Local schools are soft targets for murderous killers.
It is important how parents look upon children. The world might say that some children are a punishment, but God says, “Children are My gift to you.” Children are a heritage, because they point to the future.
It is a blessing to look back over a lifetime, and see how the children have multiplied since the day of marriage. Each family member has a destiny to be encouraged.
George Foreman was a two-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world. In his book, God in My Corner, Foreman explains how his father pointed him to that destiny as a small boy:
When I was a small boy, my father planted a seed of greatness in my mind about my future. As we played, he often raised my hands over my head as if I had just won a boxing match, and he’d shout, “George Foreman, heavyweight champion of the world! Stronger than Jack Johnson. Hits like Jack Dempsey!” Even though I didn’t understand what heavyweight champion of the world meant, he planted an idea in my mind that eventually became a reality.
It’s incredible that he declared those things about me, almost like a prophecy about my future. It’s even more amazing that I would not only become heavyweight champion, but also come back from retirement and win it a second time twenty years later. My father started proclaiming my destiny when I was only four years old and continued saying it until I was a teenager. (George Foreman, God In My Corner, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007, p.122)
Generally speaking, our children will do as we teach them. If we get it wrong, they will get it wrong. But if we will train them according to God’s Word, we will get it right—and eventually they will get it right too. “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6).
