There is a growing trend in the western world not to have children. They say, ”Two’s family, three’s a pain”.

I am not talking about couples who could not coneieve or have children of their own or through adoption, but many newly married couples choosing not to have children, considering them as a interference to their lifestyle or career. It is now redefined as “childfree”, couples today are choosing not to have children says the Times.

These couples are contented in opting not to become parents. One woman in five now remains childless, with nearly one degree-educated woman in three never becoming a mother. In the US, according to a census in 2003, 42 per cent of women don’t have children. The question that perplexes many people is why. The obvious answer, one that upsets the child-free, is selfishness: children are demanding  and require attention 24/7.

 Last month, the Pope said that Europe no longer seemed to want to have children and blamed “the wish to have one’s whole life to one’s self” for people choosing to be childless. While in Asian, Africa and Latin America there is baby boom and they seems to steadily migrating to take over the western institutions - legal, economy and politics.

My wife and I have two boys now, but we could not have children for many years, though we wanted to. Children are such a blessing and they are message to a world and time that we will not see. What a legacy to leave behind.

Some people can only see here & now, while others are obsessed with self. They simply cannot see beyond themselves or their times. Moreover, I believe that the original purpose of marriage and children for us to grow up. We are not raising our children, but it is life’s final chance to grow up really. Marriage and children are a crucible for discipleship!

http://cocogen.wordpress.com