Ends and means
2007-11-19Of late, there’s a move afoot to return to a Christian understanding of family. In particular, men are embracing their responsibilities to their wives and children by loving, nurturing, and protecting them. This is a good thing.
At the same time, I’m concerned that this movement could easily get tunnel vision. So, I offer this quick thought.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5)
These verses spawned the label for a certain subset of family reformation: “quiverful”. But these same verses also make a critical point.
Family is a means, not an end.
I have seen families so caught up in the “return to home” that they have turned inward and turned their families inward. Rather than engaging the culture where they live, they have retreated to remote locations to protect their children from the “world”.
This is not what children are for. Children are for warfare. They are for storming the gates of the enemy, for launching in salvoes against the forces of darkness, for siege warfare and conquest.
What good is a quiver of arrows if it’s tucked into your bedroll, safely back at camp?