The most precious “thing” we have in our lives as a married couple is our children. God has designed marriage to be the primary consideration in the family and married couples should strive to have successful marital unions. After the primary unit of the family is fortified, parents should make every attempt to raise and train godly children.

Unless you have had your head buried in the sand, you realize that many elements within our society are trying to take away your parental rights. Christians who stand for biblical truths are one of the greatest threats to the liberal agendas being forced upon our society. From homosexuality to transgenderism, our culture is attempting to force immorality upon our nation.

Part of the way that change is brought about in any society is to re-define the nature of the family unity. God designed marriage and family regardless of what any person or court says about the matter. As the Supreme Being in this consideration, the only thing that really matters is what His word teaches about the issue.

Just recently a paper was authored in defense of “regulated parenting.” The writer suggests that parents might need to undergo some type of governmental review to determine if they are worthy candidates to raise children before they are even born. The argument is crafted along the lines of children having rights that should not be infringed upon by parents who might not teach them to be tolerant of certain groups within our society such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered people. The essayist says,

The primary benefit of parental licensing as compared to private parenting is that licensing parents would, if efficacious, protect children from abuse and neglect before it takes place. Another objective of mine in this essay is to argue that parental licensing, out of the regulated parenting proposals that exist, is best suited to safeguarding the interests of children along one significant dimension. In particular, parental licensing, unlike public parenting support and parental monitoring, can insulate children from being raised by those who are objectionably intolerant, such as racists, sexists, and homophobes.1

Thus, teaching your children that there is a difference between the sexes and that homosexuality is morally wrong makes you a child abuser!

It is interesting to note that those who want people to be tolerant of certain behaviors are intolerant of others. In other words, they want people to be tolerant of everything they think should be acceptable and intolerant of things that they do not endorse. Homosexuality, transgenderism, and other lifestyle choices are fine, but Christianity and biblical convictions are not according to their views of right and wrong.

The writer then suggests “background checks” to see if those contemplating parenthood fit his preconceived requirements. Kianpour avers,

In this same spirit, I suggest public officials conduct background checks to determine whether prospective parents have been, to give two examples, convicted of a hate crime or successfully sued for employment discrimination. These background checks might also be used to determine if prospective parents are affiliated with organizations that would give us reason to believe they are objectionably intolerant.2

If there was any doubt about an “intolerant” organization the writer mentions a religious organization in the very next sentence. Thus, churches that teach God’s plan regarding sexuality and gender are deemed organizations that produce people who are unfit to rear children.

Unlike what has been said by this writer and other people in our culture, it is not the place of any organization, company, or government to raise children. God has placed this responsibility in the hands of the parents. Ephesians 6:4 says, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

This instruction they are to receive is the teaching and godly example of parents. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” While this is an Old Testament passage, it still provides a crucial principle of parenting. Parents teach verbally and by their example.

If we truly want to instruct children from God’s word—the only true authority in the world—it means certain things. It means teaching that homosexuality is a sin (Genesis 19:1-25; Romans 1:18-32). It means teaching that God designed marriage to be heterosexual and monogamous in nature (Matthew 19:1-9). It means that God created men and women who are uniquely designed to fulfill their roles in the culture and in the family (Genesis 2:22-23). It means that God designed marriage as the proper place for human intimacy (Hebrew 13:4; cf. I Corinthians 7:1-4).

To teach otherwise, or to turn over this responsibility over to ungodly people, violates the divine imperative. It is past time that Christians realized what our culture is trying to do to our children and make a stand against such things. We are in a soul imperiling battle with the forces of evil in our society and our young people are at stake in this battle.

1 Kianpour, Connor K. (2023). “The Kids Aren’t Alright: Expanding the Role of State in Parenting,” Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, pg. 432. https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v25i3.2109 Vol. 25, No. 3

2 Ibid. pg. 459. The religious organization mentioned in this paragraph is the Westboro Baptist church. While one would potentially take issue with the way in which they protest at various gatherings (i.e., funerals of deceased military personnel), and various doctrinal issues, their view of homosexuality being biblically wrong should give any Christian reason to pause concerning the points outlined in this essay. In other words, what other religious organizations’ members will be deemed unfit to produce children because of their moral stance?