birth control

in my small group we have been working our way through mark driscoll's series about 9 misconceptions or something like that. and in typical leanne style, it takes a few days for me to really process what i heard and to be able to form an opinion.

this week was about birth control and christianity. is it right or wrong? good or bad? mark made a lot of good points that i had never really heard before. he talked about 5 different levels of birth control starting at level 1 with no birth control.

some christians believe that birth control is from the devil. you are working in "satan's camp" if you partake in its use. and this is any kind of birth control. any surgery, pill, contraceptive, everything. i have many friends who believe this. they think they are totally in the right and everyone else is in the wrong. they condemn any such user. but is that really the way Christ would want us to act? isn't Christ about compassion for our fellow man or woman? what if we all laid down are causes and decided to love each other because thats what God commanded us to do? what would change? just some questions for thought.

the thing i enjoyed most about this sermon was that mark made it a point to say, it depends on the person and situation. its ok for someone to believe that birth control is wrong. they shouldn't impose that belief on someone else. they shouldn't look down on someone who is being a steward of what they have and decide that some sort of birth control is right for them. there are many legitmate reasons why people may need to use some form of birth control.

basically the bottom line was you need to be a steward of what you have and make sure what you are doing is not for selfish motives. selfish = not good.

some of my friends believe that our (meaning female) purpose for being on earth is to be a mother, to birth children. thats why God puts us here. to be a good wife and mother. now don't get me wrong i absolutely want to be a wife and mother. i believe God's placed that desire in me and look forward to the day when it happens. and what my well meaning friends dont understand is that this is a subject that is very near and dear to me. God holds my ability to concieve children in His hands. Doctors have told me it will be difficult but i also know the God i serve. and he wouldn't place a desire to be a mom without somehow fulfilling it. i don't dwell on the what ifs and cannots because if i do, i will lose ability to function. instead i choose to place my faith in God's hands and trust that at the right time, all will work out.

back to the sermon, i feel like i learned a lot that i didn't know about birth control. i learned a lot about the pill and how one of its purposes can be used as an abortive measure. which for the record, mark driscoll, and i agree, believes that all forms of abortion are wrong. there's a verse in deut. 31 i believe that says in all times, choose life. and i believe that with everything in me. once in a debate type class i defended all the babies in the world and said i would take them all. its a pretty funny story. ask me about it sometime.

i feel like i am a much more informed christian and better yet, person, in regards to my knowledge about birth control. and even further, challenged in my walk to not be judgemental in the choices others make.