Originally posted by Jensen:
mareese,
What you say is not wrong, however, the point I am trying to make is in verse 30: "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?"
I have never said that we were to do nothing for tomorrow, or to do nothing today. My point is that God gives us everything! Everything that I have is a gift from God. My house, my wife, my job, my life, my children. Everything. And God promises to take care of His children. He usually takes care of them through other people, such as their parents, the church, etc.
Some questions that I have are: How much is enough? Someone said that having too many kids was a waste of God's resources (improper stewardship or whatever), then how much money is required to raise one child? Not an easy question to answer...it depends! Where you live...health of the child....standard of living....culture....
The topic of this thread was contraception. My comments were that most people have selfish motives for using such devices or practices.
Another question: Does anyone have any scripture references to support the use of contraceptives?
Where do you see a promise to us that God will take care of us? The only thing I've seen God promise to us personally is the gift of life.
What is selfishness? Webster's defines it with words such as avarice, and as an undue desire for one's own comforts AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS. In my opinion, it is selfish to have an unlimited amount of children without the means of providing for them and at the risk of becoming dependent on others for your needs.
If you have only one child and waste your time and money on vices rather than using your gifts to help those in need, you are not wrong because you didn't have more children, you're wrong because you're being greedy and not showing the Spirit of Christ.
I'm going to shock a few people with the revelation that it is not selfish to not have a desire for 5 more children, neither is it selfish to say "I have enough children and do not desire more, now let me go and buy a decent house for my family". To be able to do so is a blessing, not an act of selfishness unless you know in your heart that God wants you to have five more children and doesn't want you to have a decent place to live or a reliable vehicle.
I've already answered the question of how much is enough, but I'll do it again.
Enough would be food, shelter, clothing, and access to medical care. Better would be food, better shelter, clothing, and access to better medical care.
Best would be food, a nice shelter, clothing, access to medical care for major problems, and money for further education.
I agree that as a whole we go too far in what we consider needs. It's almost a crime now to be too poor to have cable access or fancy hair stylists. On the other hand, I've seen families whose children have black teeth and no access to medical care, no boots in the winter, and struggle just to be worn out hand me downs that don't keep them warm because they don't want to limit their "blessings".
I don't have any scripture references about contraceptives either way. I did find an interesting page on the internet concerning it. While it is a tasteful page, it does go into some slight detail as is unavoidable in such a topic so I will pm you the link rather than post it openly where youngsters may view it without parental guidance.