We reject the notion that large families are bad for the environment. But we rejoice in large families and encourage the culture of adoption. We don’t think those who have larger families or those who adopt are more godly. And we don’t teach that everyone is called to have large families or that everyone should be called upon to adopt. We don’t teach that everyone should marry. It is evident from the culture of adoption at Clifton. It is evident from the many large families present in our church. This is evident from our burgeoning nursery. Praise God for the love for children that is evident at Clifton Baptist Church, where I pastor. How incredibly sad and distorted to have such a view of children. I remember feeling depressed after being with them. Two of the women went on and on about why they didn’t like children. I remember well a lunch-time meeting when I was first hired at a Christian college many years ago now. A new view of marriage and having children has arisen among many in the western world. But our children are the only ones out of the sixteen grandchildren who are married and have children. My parents had eight children and sixteen grandchildren. I think I can illustrate the point from my own family. A remarkably different attitude towards children has emerged in western culture. Many countries in Europe face an uncertain future because of the low birth rate, including Germany, Holland, Belgium, Spain, and Italy. The status of children is also evident in the declining birth rate in many western countries. It is one of the horrors of our time, a horror that is defended in our laws as a nation. Over 50 million children have been put to death in the US since Roe vs. This is obviously true with respect to abortion. In western culture children are often only celebrated if they are convenient and wanted. We learn from these chapters the value and preciousness of children. How tender and urgent are the instructions the father gives to his son. At the same time, it gives us a model for how parents should teach their children. The discourses in the first 9 chapters are the words of a father for his son, showing that the instruction of the book is for children. Solomon wrote so children would have wisdom and sound judgment, so that they would live in a way that pleases God. One of the purposes of the book is found in 1:4, where Solomon tells us that the book was written to give discretion to youth. Proverbs is a book for children and parents.
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