Can a physically healthy, married couple honor God without having children?
Upvote:10
Short Answer: Yes. Just as a person can honor God without getting married, a couple can honor God without having children.
From a Biblical perspective, Paul's advice in 1 Corinthians 7:17-35 is highly relevant:
Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. . . . Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. . . . Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called. . . . Brethren, each one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called. . . .
I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned . . . . Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none . . . and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.
But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. . . . This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.
Here we see Paul encouraging the saints in Corinth to stop worrying about trying to fit some external form and just serve the Lord. He lists off a whole series of questions where a person might be inclined to think that they need to "do" something different in order to please the Lord, and Paul's response is two-fold:
"I want you to be free from concern." The form of this world is passing away, so don't worry about it -- just remain as you are and serve the Lord
We are not talking about matters of "sin" here, so if you choose not to "remain as you are" (or, of course, if God leads you in another direction) that's OK too.
The reason this is a great passage to use in addressing your question is that God also created marriage for a specific purpose, which the Catholic teachings would also affirm. However, God created this before man fell into sin, and in the fallen world we live in, Paul suggests that his readers remember that this world is passing away, and so at the end of the day all that matters is devotion to the Lord.
More post
- 📝 Is it hypocritical for Paul to circumcise Timothy in Act 16:3?
- 📝 What does "Style" mean in the context of feast days
- 📝 Was Jesus' death legitimate?
- 📝 Did any Jews have the same canon as Jesus during the time of Christ and did the early church ever quote from it?
- 📝 Why did Paul Thank God he didn't baptize some individuals?
- 📝 If a sin can be dispensed, is it really a sin?
- 📝 When did the Holy Family actually settle down at Nazareth?
- 📝 Do Unitarian Universalist churches acknowledge the possibility that the Quran may be the inspired Word of God?
- 📝 Can a disfellowed JW marry after being reinstated?
- 📝 Have Jehovah's Witnesses always been politically neutral?
- 📝 What should I tell my children about Santa?
- 📝 What is the origin of Angel of God prayer?
- 📝 Why didn't God reveal all the answers to life?
- 📝 Why was there a decline in the number of reported miracles in the first century?
- 📝 What does Augustine mean by the "hymns and psalms" which were introduced into the liturgy?
- 📝 Are JWs restricted from expressing things in their own words?
- 📝 Does Daniel 12:1–2 indicate the damned will have physical bodies like the Saints?
- 📝 Protestants and Sola Scriptura adherents: When was scripture alone sufficient?
- 📝 What is an overview of Christian viewpoints on the 'animal cruelty' argument for veganism?
- 📝 Are there published testimonies from Latter-day Saints about their personal experiences with the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost?
- 📝 Why do we focus on faith in Jesus' death and resurrection vs other kinds of faith?
- 📝 Did Paul recognize Peter as the earthly leader of the Church?
- 📝 Is the term Kyrie Eleison Latin or Greek?
- 📝 In 1 Corinthians 1, who were Crispus and Gaius?
- 📝 What is the role of the Three Persons of the Godhead in creation?
- 📝 Are there any Christians who reject the canonicity of the whole protestant Bible?
- 📝 Is to ignore Satan also to underestimate the potential he has to assault the Christian?
- 📝 Which wisdom books are advice of a father to his son?
- 📝 Is the register where the first marriage was registered still available?
- 📝 What are some biblical basis for judging between a true and false prophet?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Can a physically healthy, married couple honor God without having children?
- 📝 Why can't God forgive a sinner without having to kill Jesus the righteous one?
- 📝 Has the Catholic Church responded to the argument that sex between a married couple can strengthen their emotional bond?
- 📝 According to Roman Catholic doctrine, why does Mary refer to God as her Savior if she was born without sin?
- 📝 Can man judge whether God is fair?
- 📝 How could Jacob wrestle with God if no one can see God and live?
- 📝 How can a loving God make a deal with the devil?
- 📝 How can a Wholly Good God Deliberately Create Evil?
- 📝 How can things considered bad when done by humans become good when God does them?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for saying that wives can divorce their physically abusive husbands?
- 📝 How is it that an unchanging and omniscient God can have "regret" as He did in Gen 6:7?
- 📝 If the Holy Spirit is God, and God can not be in the presence of sin, then how can the Holy Spirit dwell in me a sinner?
- 📝 If jealousy is sin, how can God be jealous?
- 📝 Can the Word of God and God's wisdom be beneficial to an unbeliever?
- 📝 Why does God often permit his children to suffer in this world more than the wicked?
- 📝 Can God Change his mind?
- 📝 Can a child presented by a same sex couple be validly baptized in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Can a non-Catholic receive Baptism (to formally marry a Catholic), without converting to the Catholic faith?
- 📝 Is the idea that God can erase His memory a common understanding?
- 📝 If the Bible contains all of the word of God and there can be no more, then why do we need the Nicene Creed?
- 📝 Can the God of the Old Testament be seen as a consistent moral law giver?
- 📝 Do people have the ability to truly love God, without God guiding them into loving him?
- 📝 How do non-Trinitarians who do not believe Jesus is God Almighty explain how Jesus can effect atonement for all of humanity?
- 📝 Can a third party ask for an annulment if neither married person wants it to happen?
- 📝 Can a priest validly celebrate a mass without anybody else present?
- 📝 According to Catholicism can you be saved without being baptised?
- 📝 What is a Trinitarian explanation of how God can be with Himself?
- 📝 Can a married person be elected as the Pope?
- 📝 If God desires salvation for all, how come many people died without hearing the gospel?
- 📝 How can God be Sovereign (in the Reformed sense) if a man can ignore His call to repentance?