Who raises the Children?

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newton3003

Senior Member
Feb 4, 2017
437
42
28
#1
What does the Bible say about parents taking care of their own children? And when, under God, can children be separated from their parents?

There is no commandment, ordinance or other law in the Bible that says children must remain with their parents. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that under God, children can be arbitrarily taken away from their parents at will by someone else. Since there is no directive in the Bible that says children must remain with their parents, we must look to the overall spirit of the Bible since 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “ALL Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

So, what do we find in the Bible? The Bible regards children highly, that they may grow up and continue the generations descending from Abraham, including, as it says in Galatians 3:29, “And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.”

One of the first commandments God gave, was to Adam and Eve commanding them to “be fruitful and MULTIPLY.” So, we have children in the world, and under God, children are to be raised so they may walk the path of righteousness, for it is those who live under God that will enable to produce offspring who may also live under God, thereby continuing God’s commandment to “multiply.”

Who should have the responsibility of raising children and seeing to their well-being? A reading of all the Scriptures strongly suggests that first priority is given to the parents. Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” Who is this reward given to? Well, there are at least several passages that refer to the parents raising their children. Proverbs 1:8-9 says, “Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” Ephesians 6:1-4 says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but BRING THEM UP IN THE DISCIPLINE AND INSTRUCTION OF THE LORD.” So, taken together, we have two things working here…The reward of children goes to the parents who had them, and parents have the responsibility of raising their children and seeing to their welfare.

There may be situations in which the parents cannot see to the children themselves, because they lack the means. It then becomes their responsibility to assign their children, if necessary, to those who could see to their children’s welfare, since they are obligated under 1 Timothy 5:8 to provide for their household. If the parents cannot provide for their household themselves, they must find someone who CAN provide for their household, so the family members can be taken care of.

But as long as the parents DO have the means, the responsibility for providing for their household, including raising their children, is theirs and no one else’s. And while it says in Romans 13:1 to “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God,” that is under the presumption that the governing authorities ARE acting on behalf of God. After regarding the passages mentioned here, would the governing authorities be acting under God if they were to take children away from their parents when the Scriptures have empowered the parents to raise their children to the extent that they have the means to and are of sound mind to do so?

Let’s look at this from another angle. LEVITICUS 19: 34 says, “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, FOR YOU WERE STRANGERS IN THE LAND OF EGYPT: I am the LORD your God.” What happened in Egypt, before Exodus? Egypt welcomed Jacob and his families to dwell there. Jacob’s families were surely needy because of the famine which affected them, whereas Egypt, on the advice of Jacob’s son Joseph, had enough grain to feed the whole area. When Jacob’s families entered Egypt, did the Egyptians separate the children from the parents? The Bible doesn’t say that.

So, inasmuch as our governing authorities are presumed to act in the name of God, they would not be expected to arbitrarily separate children from their parents. If they did, they would not be acting on behalf of God, so they would not be recognized by God as such. What does God do to such governing authorities who don’t act on God’s behalf? Daniel 2:21 says that God “removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding…” God would not remove those kings who did good in His sight, but as surely as He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis, and He wrecked havoc on Egypt and on the enemies of the Hebrews from Exodus to Joshua, he would remove those who did evil in God’s sight in their capacity as government authorities. And what is evil, but that which goes against God?

Children are God’s blessing for our future, and those who have them have first priority in taking care of them.