Who “owns” the children—parents or the government? In our day and age, many involved in western government believe it’s the government that owns kids. Many believe they know what is best for children and think they should get to dictate what children learn—and parents are just in the way of accomplishing the state’s goals. And that shouldn’t surprise us because how you answer the question of “Who owns the children?” depends on your starting point and the worldview you build that’s based on that starting point.
If you reject God and his Word, then anything goes—there’s no absolute standard on which to base your thinking. In this view, children are just biological machines, the product of millions of years of evolution. They aren’t given to parents—they are just a “choice” parents made.
But when we start with God’s Word, we learn that children are a gift from God—given to parents. He has given parents authority over their children and the responsibility of training, teaching, and raising children. They are not just “choices,” nor are they the government’s responsibility—children are parent’s responsibility because God gave children to their parents to train them up for him.
Psalm 127:3 KJV – “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
You see, the family unit didn’t evolve. God created the family when he created marriage (Genesis 1:27 and 2:24) and told the first couple to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). He entrusted children to parents to raise them in accord with the principles he has laid down for us in his Word (e.g., Psalm 127:3).
And we must remember: the most important part of education is the spiritual upbringing of children, as that affects their eternity:
Ephesians 3:8 KJV – “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”
Parents—take this responsibility seriously! God has given you a big job, and there’s no job more important than discipling your children in the Lord. If you aren’t thoughtfully and purposefully parenting in the Lord, I urge you and your spouse to sit down and discuss your “game plan” as a family for how you can be purposeful about this job with an eternal impact. As our world gets darker, it’s more vital than ever that you and your spouse be purposeful in how you raise your children.
