The Attitude of the Heart

"Thou Shalt Not Kill."

This, the sixth of the Ten Commandments, is written succintly there in the context of Exodus 20. It is further explained in the next chapter of the Bible. There the law states that premeditated murder calls for execution, but a person who kills another person in self-defense or by accident is not to be put to death. The difference is in the intent and attitude of the heart.

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer..."

...Words from I John 3:15 reiterating that murder is not just the act of taking the life of another person, but it is the attitude of the heart that makes a murderer. So one can be a murderer without taking someone's life!

Now I am going to say some things here that not everybody is going to agree with, but I think I stand on God's Word.

Most Christians believe that aborting a baby is wrong, that life begins at conception, and to take away that life is to commit murder. But many of those same people practice a form of abortion in the privacy of their own homes. Others have the spirit of abortion and murder, harbored deep in their hearts. I am talking about an ungodly attitude toward having children.

"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it."

We call it "family planning". But if you are a Christian, you say Jesus pilots your ship, that God is in control and you've surrendered your life to Him. Why is it, then, that you take the helm when it comes to having children? Whose job is it to build our families? It is the Lord's, and there is no Biblical evidence that shows that responsibility has been placed into human hands, regardless of our modern medical advances.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

Children are gifts from the Lord! Imagine if the royal king of a vast kingdom were to choose to honor a peasant by bestowing him a rich, priceless treasure. He sends a caravan to deliver it to the doorstep of the pauper with much pomp and an entourage of well-wishers. But when they arrive, the poor fellow turns them away and sends the gift back to the castle from whence it came. He doesn't need it, nor want it.

Would this not be offensive to the king? Of course it would! It would be at the height of ingratitude and shameful arrogance on the part of the peasant. Or perhaps simply ignorance of the value of the treasure he turned away!


A child is an eternal soul, a priceless treasure, that God intends to give to a man and his wife. It is His blessing upon the marriage. Will the Christian turn away such a priceless gift, given with all love and blessings from the heart of God? It is certainly an unrighteous attitude toward the Giver of Life. Each one of us will give an account to Him one day.

And yet many Christian families take careful, premeditated measures to turn away the blessings of God. Why? Well, there are many reasons, but most of them have to do with convenience. (Peasant: "I don't have room in my house for all this gold!" or "I don't think I have what it takes to manage it all, and am too lazy to learn how.")

So what does family planning have to do with the spirit of abortion and murder? The attitude. The attitudes that one can't afford children, or just doesn't like children, or that it would disrupt the course one wants to take in life, are common whether contemplating abortion or just family planning.

Granted, family planning is not necessarily an act of murder (although most methods can destroy life that is already there). But I think Christians should rethink their attitude toward having children, and make sure we have the mind of God on this issue. If we were to place the same value on children that God does, there would be far fewer families limiting the number of children they have.

"Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed"