Children—Commodity or Gift?

I recently saw an ad for a frozen food product that really bothered me. The ad had a picture of a little girl crying and the slogan, “Kids. Can’t return ‘em, might as well feed ‘em.” I know the slogan isn’t meant to be taken seriously, but as a mother it made me cringe. In the ad children are being portrayed as a consumer product, with the difference being that children cannot be returned like a broken TV or power tool.

I know many women, including myself, have had difficulty or found it impossible to have biological children. The reason for this is the Fall brought about by Adam’s sin that led to the imperfect world we now live in. God’s solution for my husband and I was the adoption of our daughter from China">adoption of our daughter from China five years ago. I remember shortly before we adopted someone asked us how much we paid for our daughter. The statement infuriated me because a price in monetary terms should not be put on human life. I very clearly remember answering that our daughter was priceless, but that we had to pay fees for the adoption paperwork. A popular mentality in our nation is to think of children as commodities and add them to the list of many other things we “own,” such as cars, houses, boats, etc.

But what does the Bible say about children? Hannah praises God for answering her prayer and giving her Samuel (1 Samuel 1:27). Solomon states, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3). Jesus wanted children to come to Him and He blessed them (Matthew 19:14–15). God’s Word makes it clear that children are not commodities, but rather gifts from God. God has given us the awesome privilege as parents to instruct, nurture and love children. Let’s take that responsibility seriously. To learn more please read: Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World.