“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” Gen 1:27-28
By Chuck Colson
… Brazil’s TV novelas are symptomatic of modern Western culture at large, which places the individual pursuit of pleasure and prosperity highest among all considerations — including marriage and the raising of children.
I understand that there are good reasons for limiting the size of our families. But the attitude toward children that seems to have pervaded Brazilian culture — and ours as well — is hard and utilitarian. It is also — and I say this at the risk of getting angry emails and letters — selfish.
And it won’t be easy to change. As Gorney writes, “When I asked [young Brazilian women] whether they ever felt nostalgia for the less materialistic life of their elders, two generations back — eight children here, ten there, with nobody expecting decorators to gussy up the sleeping quarters — I was able to make out, among the hooting, the word presa. Imprisoned.”
What an impoverished view of life, of family, of children! For some time now you’ve heard me say, and you will hear me say many times again, that we Christians must show the world a better way — living out lives of love and self-giving. And in this case, we need to model in our own lives, and in our own families, the Christian view that children are indeed a gift of God. And we better do it before it’s too late.
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