In Which I Talk About Birth Control

Sorta.

There is always a danger in sharing thoughts on a public blog. Danger of being misunderstood. Danger of offending those you never intended to. Danger of making everybody mad, especially your close friends and family-- the ones you bump into at the grocery store or share the turkey with on holidays.

Birth control is a controversial issue. That isn’t a new revelation to anyone. I’ve been blogging for almost two years and have never talked about it because of the dangers listed above. I don’t enjoy being controversial just for controversy’s sake or to see a spike in blog traffic. In fact, in some ways this is really the last thing I want to blog about.

So why do it? After all, many others much more articulate than I, have written about it. Great men and women of the past as well as modern ones have hashed out the issue. Couldn’t time and space be better used? Must we open up this can of worms? Again?

Two reasons:

1.) When I asked at the beginning of this year what you ladies would like more blog posts about, it was overwhelmingly this issue of birth control or something related to it such as a growing family amid unsupportive family members. I get at least one email per month from women who are terrified of relinquishing control to God alone in this area of their lives. She doesn’t, after all, want to “end up with 20 children.” Others want to know how my husband and I came to the decision to have a reversal procedure done.

2.) Also, birth control and abortion (yes, I link the two) are two of the defining cultural issues of our generation.  When there is an area that has been labeled “gray” by the culture AND by many Christians and yet God has been clear on it, it should be proclaimed loudly and by as many as are willing to do so.

I want to be clear: the gospel is infinitely more important than any of these issues. While our practices may indeed be an outworking of our faith, it is still our faith in Christ that matters. I would be much more inclined to approach a stranger on the street about her eternal destiny, than I would about how many children she had. Therefore, I do not elevate this politically incorrect topic of birth control above the politically incorrect gospel of Christ.

I also want to clear the air beforehand, that I do not believe large families hold the corner market on some sort of elevated Christianity. “God forbid that I should boast in anything but the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 6:14) I do not "judge" anyone who has less than four children.  My third objective in writing these posts is to point out an unbiblical attitude toward life and children, that many Christians hold to.

To most of you I am just some strange woman on the Internet. I encourage you to be a Berean no matter whose blog or book you are reading even if it is someone you highly respect. Everyone, no matter who you are reading, has blind spots.

I approach each email I receive about birth control with fear and trembling and so with this blog post, even moreso. Yet as many of you lament, the Titus 2 women are MIA and you are turning to authors of books and blogs for guidance from older women. And I totally get that.

And so this is a post talking about a post. I think there is indeed a great need for clarity on this whole issue of birth control. I’m praying for grace! This little intro is the beginning of a two or three part series about birth control and family planning.

So. Anyone mad yet? :)