Family Values?

From a message by a Curious Questioner--
>CQ> Subject: Family Values?

>CQ> Right from the beginning, the bearing of children is made a punishment.

No, the Bible does not say such about bearing children, but rather, the Lord makes the barren woman to be "a JOYFUL mother of children."

"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his REWARD." (Psm.127:3)

"A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." (John 16:21)

>CQ> "Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days".

"Those days", is a reference to having children when in the midst of GREAT TRIBULATION. Obviously it is not good to have children to care for, when you can hardly care for yourself. Common sense.

>CQ> Abraham actually started to kill his young son, because the god told him to, and that's presented as a virtue (Genesis 22:1-12, James 2:21). Hardly a good example of parental devotion and protectiveness!

The Lord did not ask Abraham to do anything that he was not willing to do himself. He stopped Abraham from killing his son Isaac, but he did NOT stop the people from killing God's only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who freely laid down his life FOR YOUR SINS!

>CQ> Abraham's wife Hagar and their child Ishmael got booted out into the wilderness, for no reason except that his other wife, Sarah, was jealous (Genesis 21:14). The Bible shows no criticism, and Abraham and Sarah continued to prosper.

Oh come on: the Hagarenes and Ishmaelites even today are prospering in ARABIA, one of the RICHEST oil-producing lands in the world.

>CQ> In order to gain favor with a king, Abraham said that his wife was his sister, and offered her to the king for sex.

Not true. The king TOOK her, but the Lord did NOT let him touch her.

>CQ> And Lot (Genesis 19:8) once offered his virgin daughters to be used by a mob at Sodom.

Hardly even a gamble, considering that the "mob" of Sodomite men wanted to do their thing with other men, not women.

"And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet." (Rom.1:27)

>CQ> Jacob tricked his own brother Esau of his inheritance (Genesis 25:31-33).

Esau HATED his birthright and SOLD it to Jacob for a mess of pottage. Still, God gave the land of Edom to Esau for an inheritance, and Esau lived out his days, blessed with "the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above." When Jacob later offered Esau a share of the substance of his own blessing, (rams, goats, camels, etc.; more than 500 creatures from his flock as a gift), Esau answered: "I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself."

>CQ> Although half of a family consists of women, the Old and New Testaments have enough approved-of degradation of women...

The word of God does NOT approve of any such thing. Be not deceived.

>CQ> Jesus promised his followers great rewards if they would desert their wives and children (Matt. 19:29).

The Apostles left their wives and family behind, IN GOOD CARE, while they were following the Lord. When John and his brother James forsook their nets to follow Jesus, "they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants."

When they returned to Simon's house, (and Jesus WITH them,) Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever: They told Jesus, "And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her." The Lord obviously cared for their family. Do you value your family as much? Remember that Jesus is the Lord and receive the love of the truth. Grace be unto you with charity. --Richard