PhD's over Children?
David at Oneway Purpose has an awesome post about qualifications and Germany (when doesn't David have an awesome post?). He adds some interesting thoughts to an article from Reuters that you don't want to miss.
Now, I read the article and am going to add my own commentary (not that David's was bad, I am just taking my thoughts in a slightly different direction).
My mom is a classic example of this and she's one of my role models. She has a degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. She was making an incredible amount of money by the time she graduated from college. She also got married at 23 and had me at 26. Quoting from her Choosing Home article:
Getting back the the original article, it really boils down to what we value and are we open to input from God. If so, we should listen to His leading and not our own.
More thoughts on this topic to come. Stay tuned...
Posted by Kristin
Now, I read the article and am going to add my own commentary (not that David's was bad, I am just taking my thoughts in a slightly different direction).
Germans value letters attached to their name more than money, love or having children with nine out of ten rating a good qualification as their most important aim in life, a survey showed WednesdayIn essence, this is making Germany's population severely decline. Many are preferring letters next to their names rather than the legacy of children. I don't know about everyone else, but I sure would much rather have children than a "PhD" or a "Dr." next to my name (I'm not against higher education, by the way).
My mom is a classic example of this and she's one of my role models. She has a degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan. She was making an incredible amount of money by the time she graduated from college. She also got married at 23 and had me at 26. Quoting from her Choosing Home article:
I gave my life to Christ my first year there [at college]. Through excellent discipleship and fellowship God was able to root out many false notions that had been deposited in my youth. Christ also gave me an inner confidence that I had lacked. But I held firm on marriage. It wasn't for me. Many others were there for an "Mrs." degree but I was all business. I majored in computers. This suited my logical and analaytical skills fairly well. And an added bonus, the corporations were hungry for women in this field so I figured finding a job would be easy after graduation.My mom had no interest in marriage. But God had other plans for her.
Fortunately for my mom, God made it very clear what He wanted her to do. She stopped working and stayed home and had kids. My mom is a great encouragement to me in this area. In a world that encourages women to join the workforce, she's a voice who has encouraged me to keep going "against the current".This was also the time when I took my first "real" job as a computer sales representative for a company in our area. I quickly excelled in my job. I was learning nearly $4000 a month selling computers. The PC industry was booming and so was my career. Full steam ahead. But then came the choice.
Getting back the the original article, it really boils down to what we value and are we open to input from God. If so, we should listen to His leading and not our own.
More thoughts on this topic to come. Stay tuned...
Posted by Kristin
posted by Kristin at
5:07 AM
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4 Comments:
Being a man, I guess I can delay having children for a bit longer for than the opposite side.
However, my PhD studies do mean I cannot easily contemplate marriage until I am at least 27.
I cannot see myself having any career outside academia, but it does bother me that what seems to me to be the only real career option fo rme entails my delaying marriage for such a long period.
I am not sure it is healthy to delay marriage too long.
Starting a family to me seems a really important part of becoming an adult. It means becoming responsible, being a wife or a mother if you are a woman, or becoming a provider and husband if you are a man.
It seems to me a cause of concern that more and more young people are advised to spend longer periods in education (and they usually cannot get jobs for soem years after). The result of that is that many young people, like myself are forced by circumstances to be 'teenagers' until they are at least 24.
As I am German and currently in academia, I can confirm that for many of my collegues and many students I talk to it is more important to have academic success (or a very-well paid job) than a family and children. Isn't that sad! And if I share that my "goals" for the future are different - a godly marriage and children and myself as a homemaker - the reactions are somewhere between total unbelief, ridicule (rarely) and absolute wonder... Quite some think it a good thing, but still would not change their view.
I am actually pursuing a PhD :) and I enjoy it (most of the time), but I am waiting for the husband and family God will hopefully give to me. If you tell people here that you want at least four children, then they go really crazy ;).
Just found your blog, btw, and really like it!
Hmmmm......you automatically seem to assume that having children is more worthy than pursuing a career. Why? Surely not all are called to be parents - and there are plenty of people in the world today which it is arguable that having children has ruined them, or that they ruin the lives of their children. Each to their own calling, be it a family or not, surely? Legacy can exist in the lives of the people we touch, and not solely in a lasting family name. Hey, even Christ didn't have any children, and what a legacy was there, hmmm?
I agree, not all are called to have families. Discipleship (raising 'spiritual' children) is an important and mandatory part of the Christian life. Whether you end up discipling your own children or someone else's, a godly legacy is more important than degrees or having children of your own.
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