This morning, one of my favorite bloggers pointed out a recent problem resulting from the down-turning economy: people are having less babies. He says:
One of the overlooked consequences of the current economic downturn is the increasing number of people who have decided to forego having children. All over the western world people are deciding that now is not the time to get pregnant. As a result, the vasectomy industry is experiencing an economic boom. As evidence of this, there was a recent article in Bio-Medicine titled, “With the Economy Down, Vasectomy Rates Are Up.” The author notes that, “Doctors around the United States are reporting a sharp increase in the number of vasectomies performed since the economy soured last year.” The numbers are actually quite astonishing. One article reported more than a thirty percent increase in vasectomy rates in Canada. Things are even worse in some parts of the United States.
And this, to me, was the most interesting observation:
There’s another issue at play here. Many people who prevent pregnancy today and plan on just “getting back around to it” some other time are in danger of, “tempting the Lord their God.” (Matt 4:7; cf. Deut. 6:16) Getting pregnant is not a guarantee. There are plenty of people out there who cry themselves to sleep at night because they’ve been trying for years and God has not opened the womb. People who put pregnancy off until a “more appropriate time” need to bear this in mind. You don’t know when (or if) you will get pregnant. As such, it is quite presumptuous to put it off until you decide you’re ready. Remember, God is the author of life, and every child is a blessing. Besides, who’s going to fix our ethical, spiritual, economic, and political crisis in the next generation if those of us who know the answer (the gospel) shut it down and stop launching arrows simply because they may require a little financial sacrifice in the short run?
How very true! Just because the economy is in decline is no reason to start disobeying God's first command: Be fruitful and multiply!
Read more here.
3 comments:
Hey Ginger,
Thanks for this post. I respect Voddie Bauchman and had the privilege of hearing him speak at our church a couple of years ago. He talked about this very thing and it definitely stirred up some conversation in our church. Children are a blessing and it is good to be reminded of that as our culture seems to think very differently.
Thanks for provoking some discussion in our home and turning us to the Word.
Angela
Good post Ginger. I had a whole thing typed up but deleted it. There's too much to say.
Funny I read that back in March in the DFW online news. This month the SAME news source is saying we are having a recession baby boom! Just don't know what to trust besides God.
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