10 things the bible says about family planning

It is not advisable, in the secular world, to have children without considering a lot of factors such as finances, spacing and family size. This brings about the need for consciously making the decision on how many kids to have. But as a Christian, is it okay to actively prevent pregnancies as regards your own plans? Here is what the bible says below;

1. Modern birth control methods were unknown in Bible times, and the Bible is, therefore, silent on the matter.

2. The Bible presents children as a gift from God (Genesis 4:1; Genesis 33:5), a heritage from the Lord (Psalm 127; 3-5), a blessing from God (Luke 1:42), and a crown to the aged (Proverb 17:6).

3. The closest that Scripture comes to condemning birth control is Genesis chapter 38, the account of Judah's sons Er and Onan. Er married a woman named Tamar, but he was wicked and the Lord put him to death, leaving Tamar with no husband or children. Tamar was given in marriage to Er's brother, Onan, in accordance with the law of levirate marriage in Deutronomy 25: 4-6. Onan did not want to split his inheritance with any child that he might produce on his brother's behalf, so he practiced the oldest form of birth control, withdrawal. Genesis 38:10 says, “What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so He put him to death also.”

4. Contraception, by definition, is merely the opposite of conception. It is not the use of contraception that is wrong or right. As we learned from Onan, it is the motivation behind the contraception that determines if it is right or wrong.

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5. Some, such as missionary couples, may feel their service to God overrides the desire for children at a particular point in time. Some may be convinced that God has a different plan for them. Ultimately, a couple’s motives for delaying childbearing, using contraception, or even having numerous children, are between them and God.

6. The Bible says, children are gifts from God and happy is the man whose quiver is full of them (Ps 127:5). But in all reality, not everyone has the same size quiver (i.e., capacity for a large family).

7. However, if couples decide to use birth control, they should carefully consider the method used and avoid any method that would lead to or cause abortion.

8. The proper use of a non-abortive form of birth control is not wrong as long as we are seeking God’s will in what we do. The principle of James 4: 15-17 is certainly applicable here: You ought to say instead, “If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that.” 4:16: But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 4:17 So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.'

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9. God said to the man and woman, "Be fruitful and multiply." Some people interpret that as meaning that intentionally preventing pregnancy would be wrong. But in its original context, this verse was part of a passage telling how God has given mankind stewardship over the world, and it was not a statement about birth control: "And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (NAS, Genesis 1:28)

10. The Bible gives clear, direct guidance on many topics of morality, but not on birth control. Thus, any inferences from the Bible are opinions and not Biblical evidence.