Psalm 127:1-5
1 Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. 2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. 5 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.
This psalm is a wisdom poem thought to be written by Solomon to illustrate that everything we have is given by God because of his goodness to us. God is building his people, protecting them and blessing them. It is in this psalm that children are described as a heritage and a reward from the Lord that will one day grow to defend the parents.
The way you see them matters.
Psalm 127:3 “3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
Modern western culture has increasingly deemed children as liabilities and inconveniences. Children are difficult. It costs too much to raise children. They take too much time.
Here is a summary of a conversation I feel like I had countless times during my pregnancy: You think being pregnant is hard? Just wait until your baby is born and sleep exists only in your dreams! Except you’ll never have dreams again because you’ll never sleep again! Anyway, congratulations! Welcome to the Mom Club! These dire warnings and endless jokes about the unspeakable horrors of parenting have only increased as my daughter enters the terrible twos. While friends, family members and kindly strangers have also shared encouraging words with me, the anxiety-inducing comments seem to vastly exceed the positive ones. When I was trying to survive the hurricane of infancy, these quips were not only profoundly unhelpful but effectively depressing. Yet griping about the quotidian torture of parenthood — the mess! the lack of sleep! the disappearance of freedom! — often feels like the only way new parents can connect, and admitting you might find parenting fulfilling or rewarding increasingly feels like an unspeakable taboo. Karen Kicak is a television writer who wrote for the Netflix comedy “Workin’ Moms.” Dec 25,2023
The truth is when people generally talk about having and raising children, it is increasingly from the perspective of how difficult and inconvenient it is. The way you frame the season of your life determines the value you place on it.
Children do not turn into blessings unless they are raised as blessings.
Psalm 127:4 “4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.”
Proverbs 22:6 “6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Children must first be viewed as blessings and then directed as such. We endure suffering, but we direct blessing. We must view our children with the idea that we get to direct them and send them out. If we define parenting as a season of suffering to endure, we will not equip them to fulfill God’s calling on their lives. We must take the view that it is a privilege and honor to be entrusted with the responsibility and blessing to care for and equip our own children.
Be selfish for the blessing, not yourself.
Psalm 127:5 “5 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.”
Solomon is communicating that his grown children will defend him at the gate.
When our children are a blessing I am jealous for them. I want the best for them. I want to teach them the best and steer them in the best direction and watch them become a blessing to me. When I am selfish, I withhold the attention, emotion, and energy necessary to bless my children.
God has not called us to treat our children as a season to endure and hope for the best but to view them as blessings from the Lord that we are entrusted to develop in the Lord and send out!