Question from a reader:

My wife and I do not feel called to have children. I’m 42, and she’s 40. We both have fulfilling career ministries and I’m wondering about getting a vasectomy.

Answer from Randy Alcorn:

The single biggest problem with you having a vasectomy is closing the door to the future. This is a permanent decision you will make in light of present circumstances, but your life circumstances can change. A permanent measure like this means God could never lead you otherwise and your life circumstances could never be otherwise.

James 4:13, 14 says we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. What if you and/or your wife have a strong change of heart later on? As sad as it would be, what if your wife were to die and four years from now you were married to someone else and your new wife wanted to have a child? I know these are hard things to think about, and you may think they will never happen, but we don’t know what the future holds.

Singleness is a clear biblical calling (I Corinthians 7). But there is no clear biblical calling for a married couple to remain childless. I’m not saying that to remain childless would not be God’s calling, but to do something permanently to prevent a child would be by your choice, not God’s. God may choose to have you remain childless, but that needs to be His choice, not yours. A vasectomy makes it your permanent choice, not His.

Photo by Timo Stern on Unsplash