Not having children

[Texan38]

Is not having children unbiblical and/or sinful?

[Mike Miller]

The short answer is no. Some believe all forms of birth control are sinful and that all couples should have as many children as possible. Those convictions are usually grounded in both the command to Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply as well as to the many passages that speak of children being a blessing. Moreover, many would say that we should not hinder God's natural processes of creating life.

However, Scripture contains no universal command for all couples to have children, nor does it explicitly condemn the choice not to have children. Therefore, the choice for a married couple to forgo childbearing is not sinful in itself. Now, motives could be a different matter. Does someone choose not to have children because of some ill will toward children, which is not very Christ-like? Or does someone make that choice out of fear, which is clearly not a good way to make decisions? Or has the couple prayerfully and thoughtfully decided for some other reasons that God's will for their lives is not to have children? Since the couples themselves are the only ones who can answer those questions, it would be best for the rest of us not to pass judgment.

Of course, there is the issue of infertility, which is something beyond someone's control. I know may people who struggle in this area, and I sincerely hope no one looks down on them for a circumstance they did not choose.