Saving Resources and Other Misguided pursuits

 WHOA, WHOA, WHOA. Put down your pitchforks and let's talk.

    Saving the Earth's resources is a misguided undertaking? Well okay, certainly not every effort to care for our planet is misguided...and admittedly that title may be hovering on the line of clickbait, but this is something that needs your attention! 

    For decades, a well-known but equally well-disproven theory has wormed its way into family planning discussions, ecological conservation conversations, and even unsolicited advice from nosy family members. I'm talking about the myth of the population bomb, and a resulting growing disinterest in bigger families.

Have you ever heard or thought ideas like these?

"I think I only want one or two kids. I don't want to leave too big of a footprint."

"Isn't it kind of irresponsible to bring new kids into the world when there's already so many in foster care and orphanages?"

"Kids are so expensive! I don't think I could afford to have more than one."

"The world is getting to be such a bad place...I have a hard enough time myself, so why would I want to bring kids into this with me?"

    I know I have! As a newly wed, I've spent a lot of time thinking about my future family: how many kids I want, when I want to have them, how my husband and I will care for them. I'd be lying through my teeth if I told you there wasn't a fair amount of fear and anxious doubt mixed in with all that level-headed family planning! I've found myself particularly susceptible to latching onto popular theories and ideas in order to help guide my plans for the future, regardless of whether they're well-grounded or not. 

If you, like me, are starting to look at the future of your family, I would invite you to NOT LET FEAR GUIDE YOUR PLANNING.

That brings us back to this week's topic: the theory of the "population bomb." This idea stems from the book of the same name, written by a professor by the name of Paul Ehrlich in the late 1960's. In his book, Paul Ehrlich laid out a dark future, brought about by overpopulation. He wrote that if the number of children being brought into the world was not reduced, either via a rapid increase in abortions or simply having fewer children per household, the world would face mass starvation and resource depletion in the very near future. 

   

He even compared having 5 children to robbing a bank, the idea being that having that many children is robbing others of the resources they need to live.

Yikes, that sounds pretty bleak! We'd better shape up, stop having so many kids, and really turn this overpopulation thing around...

Image from Famines-Our World in Data

...right?

Wrong! It might interest you to know that Ehrlich's predictions have all come and gone...with remarkably little merit. He wrote that by the 1970's, we would be experiencing unprecedented rates of mass starvation. Today the number of global deaths due to famine and hunger are at an unprecedented low. 

He also predicted that all the oil in the world would be gone by 1985, and the world coal supplies would follow shortly in 1990. It's 2023 and I still drive to work everyday, my engine running on oil that is very much existing.

Unfortunately, despite showing evidence to the contrary, the idea that the world needs less people seems to have permeated the subconscious of millions of modern-day families. Today, over half of people live in a country where the number of deaths exceed the number of births.

Their populations are actively dying!

What's the benefit in knowing any of this you might ask? Is the cure-all solution to pump out as many kids as you are physically able? Definitely not. Your plans for the future branches of your family tree are not for anyone else to decide.

However, to me it is a good reminder that something as fundamentally crucial as family should not be influenced by the fear of diminishing resources of any kind.

Going back to the statements from earlier: each one reflects the idea that there is not enough of something.

Not enough   future income.

                    Environmental resources.

                    Loving homes.

                    Goodness in the world.

                    Time for "me".

                    You name it!

As I've evaluated some of my fears and doubts, I've been able to trace many of them back to this fear of scarcity. Are there things we need to think about when considering how to provide the best future for our family? Absolutely! 

However, the difference comes in whether we plan and anticipate with fear or faith. I believe strongly that the creation of and the caring for families is among God's top priorities. He will reveal to each of us His will regarding how many children we should have, if any, and when we should have them. Then, He will help us care for however many we are blessed with.

My family takeaway this week?

We don't need Paul Ehrlich telling us to have only one child. We shouldn't let future uncertainty to delay having a child if that's what you feel you should do. If having children isn't in His plan, we can move forward on that too. We are living now, and if we live with God rather than fear, the future of our family tree becomes a lot more vibrant. 

What's yours looking like?