Jan 9th, 2022: Having Kids or Pets?




Pope Francis got into trouble while saying that couples are selfish when deciding to have pets instead of children. He has faced a barrage of criticism for his statement. People didn't take the time to listen to his entire message that has to deal with the ultimate decline of the population. How do we take care of our elderly without a younger population?


Let us take a look at some of the reactions.


"If I were the Pope, I would not tell women to do anything. It is not my place." - I don't think he was telling women what to do because it takes two to get pregnant. It was a comment about the future of humanity without kids. That is a serious matter. It might be a more critical issue than the environment itself. Why should we save our environment when we don't think about humanity?


"How many children does the Pope have again? Sound a little hypocritical if you ask me." - Asking such a question is far more hypocritical than we think. It is like asking a barren woman why she doesn't have kids. He was not making a statement about himself, and people fail to understand that. Maybe we are too defensive to deal with the truth, so we don't engage the issue honestly. We decide to attack people when they bring up issues we don't want to discuss.


"The Pope is clearly clueless about what it takes to have kids. What would he know? Why should people be thrust into poverty to have children? That's what frequently happens. Consciously deciding not to have kids is noble." - Most couples I know who decide not to have kids are not living in poverty by any means. Using children living in poverty as the reason for not having kids doesn't always fit the reality we face. We don't have kids because we don't want them to impact our lifestyles. There is no doubt that it takes sacrifices to have kids.


We live in a time when we are willing to dehumanize babies inside their mothers' wombs and then humanize animals. That is another narrative we are facing 


1 John 2: 15-16

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world."

 

Popular posts from this blog

Sept 4th, 2024: Praying in Images

Image
It has been a rough few days. Living in immense pain does not allow us much energy to think about anything. I ended up praying in images, and not many words came out of my mouth. Most of the images were of people I know. God knew that I was praying for them as their faces came to my mind. I did not need to mention the circumstances or situations of their lives—He knows. My heart was at peace as I ended my days with these images. He will take care of my body, and I know this because I was able to get some sleep. Tomorrow is in His hands.
Read more

Aug 31st, 2024: Confession

Image
Dealing with pain sometimes affects our ability and flexibility. A physiotherapist friend gave me a set of home exercises to help with that. They are simple yet intense at the same time. Dealing with our human brokenness sometimes affects our ability to see and hear God. Our commitment to spiritual disciplines must be at the core of our relationship with God. One of the disciplines I have been trying to embrace more fully is confession. It’s not just about recognizing where we have gone wrong; it’s about how we have chosen to live our lives independently from God. It’s about whether we truly want God to be part of our lives. The absence of meaningful confession will damage our freedom to experience intimacy with God. "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." - Proverbs 28:13
Read more

May 18th, 2020: Why Forgiveness?

Image
  A young man called me last night and he was tormented by his relationship with his mother. It is not because she was a horrible mom. It was unresolved grief that is caused by his dad's suicide a few years ago. Emotionally, he blames parents for his father's death although he knows intellectually that it is not right. I knew the father a bit because his mother and her family came to see me for help when they first arrived in Canada. He was a brilliant physician and who was quite loved by people of a small northern town in Alberta. He was awkward in some ways and very uncomfortable in social conversations. This young man has had many conversations with me ever since the suicide. His father's death has been a major topic of our time together. Most of our conversation yesterday was about forgiveness. We were talking about forgiving people who never ask or haven't got a chance to ask us to forgive them. The question is whether we can forgive without being asked. His father...
Read more