Joy and Responsibility

Jehovah's people recognize that while there is joy in rearing children, there is also responsibility.  The Bible, at 1 Timothy 5:8 says: "Certainly if anyone does not provide for those who are his own, and especially for those who are members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith."

Parents must provide for their families both materially and spiritually, and this takes considerable time and effort.  They do not have the attitude that since God provides children, it is left to God to care for them.  They realize that rearing children  according to the Bible principles is a full-time  responsibility assigned by God to parents; it is not one that should be delegated to others. -Deuteronomy 6:6, 7. 

The task of rearing children is especially difficult in these "last days" of "critical times hard to deal with."  (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Apart from worsening economic conditions, the increasing godlessness of society adds to the challenges of child rearing today.  Even so, throughout the world, countless Christian couples have taken up this challenge and are successfully rearing godly children "in the discipline and mental regulating of Jehovah." (Ephesians 6:4)  Jehovah loves and blesses these parents for their hard work.  

Next time: Why Some Remain Childless

From the Watchtower magazine, 2000