Recently, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar added baby 17 to their family. First of all, congratulations. Children are a blessing. I'm not interested in having 17 children, but more power to them if they can afford it (money and time).
However, in reading the blogging world since the baby was born, I have been a little annoyed by both the anti- and pro- Duggar families. The anti-Duggar families annoy me because they tend to (not 100%, but mostly) be liberal people, with whom I would disagree about most topics anyway.
It's many of the pro-Duggar families that have irritated me most, however. Many of the quiverfull proponents, and extremely conservative Christians, have been very vocal since Jennifer Duggar was born. My biggest beef with them is that they seem to hold the Duggars, and other mega-sized, skirt wearing, homeschooling families, up as examples to be emulated. My concern is the legalism this promotes.
If you have a large family because you feel the Lord has called you to, and you genuinely believe you should turn over all fertility to the Lord, then more power to you. (Although, I would debate that the quiverfull mentality is just NFP in the reverse, as they don't just go about having kids but do things to increase fertility as much as NFP proponents do things to decrease fertility. Therefore, I don't think you can approve of one without the other. But that's another post for another day.)HOWEVER, if you are having mulitple children because you think that makes you a better Christian, and that God loves those who have 17 or 25 kids more than He loves those who have 1 or 2 or even none, then you are wrong, and doing it for the wrong reasons. I would even go so far as to say that the Lord will not bless you for that sacrifice, as I believe He is more concerned with the heart.
If you wear dresses because the Lord has convicted you about modest dress, or it is an issue where you have struggled, then you are doing the right thing. If you are wearing dresses so that you can "look like" a Christian, or because you believe God will love you more than if you wear pants or even *gasp* shorts, then once again, I believe that is the wrong reasoning.
The same goes for homeschooling, having long hair, having a wife that stays at home. If you are doing it because it is your genuine calling, then by all means honor the conviction the Lord has placed on your heart. But if you are doing it for looks, if you think this outward stuff makes you a better Christian and more worthy of God's favor, or if you think this makes you more Holy than those worldly Christians who don't do it, then you might as well not bother. You're just wasting your time.
