Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 313 | What If They Win?

Episode Date: October 14, 2020

Today, we take your questions from Instagram and give our best answers on faith, politics, and family: How to deal with leftist pushback against Christianity, and what can we expect if Joe Biden and the Democrats sweep the 2020 election? Plus, a discussion on when it's the right time to settle down with the little ones. Today's Sponsor Built Bar: Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “RELATABLE” to get 20% off your first order. Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort.

We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Wednesday. Hope everyone has had a wonderful week so far. I'm going to answer some of the questions that you guys sent me on Instagram.

You sent me so many wonderful ones. And there were a lot of questions I got that I've addressed on the podcast before, which is, totally fine. I don't have any problem with that. A lot of you who are following me on Instagram or who are listening to the podcast, you are new and you have no idea that I've talked about some of the subjects that I have. I am working on categorizing. It takes a long time, but I've got someone helping me now, working on categorizing all of my podcast episodes on my website, Alliebethstocky.com. And then once I finish that, it's going to be a lot easier for you guys to navigate. I'll be able to point you guys exactly.

to the link and you're just going to be able to go there and to find the podcast that you're looking for. However, in the meantime, all you have to do is scroll through. And typically, the titles are pretty self-explanatory. Or you can just search in the podcast app. I get a lot of questions, for example. Have you ever talked about predestination? You could try typing in relatable predestination. There is an episode titled predestination. Some people ask me about women pastoring churches. there's an episode titled Women in the Church. You can type in relatable women in the church. You can even Google that with the name, Ali Stucky,

and something is going to come up. The episode will come up. You can also just scroll through. Some people ask me about my testimony, how I got to do what I'm doing. Well, I definitely, first of all, recommend you reading my book. You're not enough. And that's okay. Escaping the toxic culture of self-love.

I tell you a lot about how I landed where I'm. I am now what my testimony is, how the Lord saved me. And so you can read my book for those details, but I've also talked about it on this podcast way back when. So just scroll back. A lot of people just kind of binge listen to my podcast once they find it. And a lot of the podcast episodes are evergreen. Like last summer, when I was on maternity leave, I pre-recorded a bunch of evergreen

topics or evergreen episodes. And I think it was like Monday I did a theological topic. and Wednesday I did a political topic and on Friday I did an interview. And so I kind of go back to the basics. I talk about, you know, why I'm a reformed Christian and why I believe the things that I do. And I also talked a little bit about, you know, eschatology. And then on Wednesdays I talked about how liberals and conservatives view the Constitution and how we view things like socialism and all of that. So you can go all the way back to last summer, even before that, you can just binge listen to the episodes. You can put it on one and a half times or two times. Some of you say I already talk too fast and so you can't listen

on two times. I feel like I don't. Whenever I listen to my podcast, not on two times, I'm like, oh my gosh, that's so slow. But I understand. Some of you think that I talk quickly and so, but you can go back and you can listen. You can listen to those and just kind of binge listen if you're wondering if I've ever talked about something. But I will categorize those episodes for you. you so you will be able to find them quickly. Okay, I'm going to try to get through as many questions as possible. I know I usually take so long to answer just a single question, and then I only get through like three of the questions that you guys send, and so I'm going to try to be quick this time. Okay, here's a question, biblical way to deal with receiving hateful reactions to your faith,

politics, beliefs. So there's certainly a difference between persecution and pushback. and we need to make sure that we are distinguishing between the two. It's very easy for any type of person, but I would say Christians as well to have a victim complex where we think anytime someone is arguing against us or pushing back against us that we are being persecuted, it may be a form of persecution or it may not be. It could just be people offering a different perspective. It could be people arguing you or debating you. And that is perfectly fun. that's not necessarily them trying to, you know, castigate you or make you feel bad about yourself or persecute you. And so I do think it's important to distinguish between those two. When Jesus talks about persecution, he says, you know, blessed are those who are persecuted, but he is specifically talking about, you know, persecuted for following him, persecuted for being a Christian, persecuted for being a disciple of Christ. And so if someone argues with you about your politics, that doesn't necessarily mean that you're being persecuted. Now, they could take that to great lengths to where, you know,

if you're owning a business, they could try to trash your Yelp page. They could try to ruin your life. They could try to docks you. I would certainly say if it's for your faith, that's certainly a form of persecution. And I think the way that we handle that, there are times when it's good to correct the record. If someone is slandering you, if someone is spreading a rumor about you, and it is important for you to actually publicly correct the record about this because it's causing a lot of confusion, then certainly you have the opportunity and perhaps the responsibility to do so. However, a lot of times when people are trying to mischaracterize you, lie about you, criticize you online, it's just not even worth responding to because what they're trying to do is get your attention

and to make sure that you've read the things that they're saying about you and make you feel bad. And it's just not worth investing your time into. And so what you do is that when you get criticism, first you examine it to see if it's true. Is it true what they're saying? Are you saying something that is false or do you have the wrong perspective on something? If it's not true, then you just have to not worry about it. Your job is to glorify Christ by seeking and speaking truth in a way that. is loving in a way that is kind. There are going to be people who tone police you, no matter how you

speak, no matter how gently you speak, no matter how many people tell you, wow, you're so gracious and you speak the truth in love, there are going to be people mostly because they disagree with you who come along and say, oh, you know, your tone is off here or I really wish that you would say this differently. I wish you would be a little bit softer or maybe a little bit more agnostic on or be a little bit less assured and confident in this particular area, and you've just got to ignore that. You've got to ask God for wisdom, ask God to humble you. I constantly ask God to humble me and show me where I'm wrong. I don't want to be wrong. I don't want to tell a lie. I don't want to misconstru something. I don't want to manipulate my audience in any way. I don't want to let my bias say

something that isn't true. So I'm constantly asking God to show me where I'm wrong, to receive criticism well, but to be able to push to the side criticism that is just not based on reality and to focus on what he has called me to and who he says that I am. And as long as you are doing that, as long as your eyes are on Christ, as long as your hope is in heaven, not in what people say about you for better or for worse, then you can remain confident. The Bible says that his mind is imperfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, whose mind is stayed on Christ. And so, keep your mind stayed on Christ. Ask him to help you discern between true criticism that needs to be taken and it needs to be heated. And criticism that is just unfounded, help him or ask him

to help you discern between persecution and pushback and how to react to those two things in a way that is glorifying to Christ. I certainly have not always responded. in a way that is glorifying to Christ, but we ask him to sanctify us and to conform us to his image. Okay, someone asked Tim Keller having somewhat of a critical race theory view. So a lot of people are saying, okay, Tim Keller has gone woke because a couple years ago he wrote an article about how socialism isn't objectively bad. And he certainly has, I would say, a more liberal view on things like systemic racism and critical race theory. I would say even things like Marxism, although I think he would say that he doesn't agree with Karl Marx.

I think that he does skew to the left on a lot of issues, but that's not necessarily new. Like if you read or listen to some of the things that he said even 20 years ago, he has kind of always been in this camp. Maybe it's coming to the surface a little bit more with so many conversations about so-called racial and social justice. But he's always business way. I mean, the guy is he lives in New York.

He's lived in New York for a long time that is going to have an effect on how you think and how you see the world. I will not stop recommending certain resources from Tim Keller. When I read Reason for God, when I was a senior in high school, it really helped me and changed my perspective on how to approach Christianity intellectually to how to love God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength. I would say that that book, Reason for God, and C.S. Lewis's mere Christianity, had a huge effect on my faith and really spurred me on and served as a springboard to really studying the Bible and knowing God. And so I'm so thankful for that. And nothing that he says now can discount the help that was offered to me and has been offered to millions of people through the book, Reason for God. Prodigal God is another great one by Tim Kemp.

We just read the freedom of self-forgetfulness at the very beginning of a women's book club with Ali Stucky on Facebook. Every Good Endeavor is another good one. And there are a few more by Tim Keller, Meaning of Marriage, one of the best books on marriage engagement that I have ever read. And so, look, there are going to be people with whom we disagree socially, culturally, politically in heaven. And I think Tim Keller, a lot of his work is so solid and so helpful.

I just really disagree with him on how he skews on politics. And I have a hard time understanding his perspective on a lot of it. I've asked him to be my podcast. It was a while ago to no avail, which that's fine. He's a big deal. And I don't expect everyone I asked me of my podcast to say yes. But I would love to have a conversation with him as someone that I respect in so many ways, but really disagree with on the topic of social justice.

Someone asks, how can we prepare for the worst case scenario Dems running out? everything. So if Democrats win the presidency, if they win back the Senate, if they take over, or if they win a bunch of seats in state legislatures, I think that we are in major trouble. And the reason is because of the things that they have promised to do if they gain power, pack the court. So that means expanding the court to 13 seats, filling in those four extra justices with left-wing activists, as we've talked about before. And we'll talk about more on Friday with Ted Cruz, what it looks like when a Democrat nominates and confirms a judge or a justice, the way that they see the Constitution, left-wing justices and judges, is this

living document that can really be molded, that can really be changed according to whatever the next progressive trend is. So they really make the Constitution, make the law say whatever they want to according to the current progressive dogmine. So they can try to find a so-called right in between, you know, the in between the lines of the Constitution in order to make it say what they wanted to say. And that is why Democrats are always pleased with the results or with the results of a Democratic nominated and confirmed judge or justice. They are always in agreement with them because left-leaning judges and justices always align with the latest democratic dogma. Whereas conservative judges and justices, how they see the text is very different.

So you've probably heard the term constitutionalist or textualist or originalist. And so they interpret the law according to how the law was originally intended and what the law actually says. And because we are looking at an objective source, the constitution, the law, there is going to be a difference in opinions. So conservatives are very consistently disappointed by how Republican-nominated or Republican-confirmed judges and justices rule because we disagree on the interpretation of the objective text that happens very often. And so what would happen if they packed the court, which Joe Biden refuses in Kamala Harris, they refused to say whether or not they would do that. Democrats in Congress have promised that they would do that. So that means that they that that they

would obviously. The reason why Joe Biden isn't saying that is because he is trying very hard to get moderates. He's trying very hard to get Trump defectors. He's trying very hard to get people in the middle of the country. He knows that trying to expand the court is radical. Ruth Bader Ginsburg even said that that's a terrible idea. It was a terrible idea when FDR tried to do it. It's a terrible idea now. So that's why he won't say that they are going to do. do that if they gain power, but they will. They'll fill in those four left-wing justices, and it will not matter what the Constitution says. It will not matter. It will not matter what the First Amendment says about religious liberty. It will not matter what the First Amendment says

about free speech. It will not matter what the Second Amendment says about your right to bear arms. They will interpret the law according to current democratic dogma to mean whatever the heck they want it to mean. So everything is on the line if Democrats take power and they decide to, do that one thing that they have promised to do. School choice will be on the line. Home school will be on the line. Parenthoodal rights will be on the line. Free speech will be on the line. Your pastor's ability to preach to things that he wants to preach will be on the line. Religious liberty and general will be on the line. Your right to own and carry a gun will be on the line. I mean, that is literally what's at stake. You're talking about constitutional rights,

not just for this generation, but for generations to come. There's also a difference when we talk about rights when the right talks about rights versus when the left talks about rights. So here's a really good example of that. You remember Jack Phillips, he owned the cake shop, the masterpiece cake shop in Colorado. And a gay couple came to his cake shop and said, we want a wedding cake for our gay wedding. He said, look, I don't make gay wedding cakes. I'll make you another kind of cake. I'm happy to serve you. But I don't make gay wedding cakes here because I am a about Christian and homosexuality and specifically gay marriage is against my religion. And so it would be against my conscience to make that cake. Well, they attempted to ruin his life. That is what I

believe they actually set out to do. They could have gone anywhere to go get a gay wedding cake, especially in Colorado. But they decided to try to ruin Jack Phillips's life because according to his conscience and according to his religion, he decided that he was going to conduct his business in a way that he saw fit. The right would say, look, that's his First Amendment right. You don't, you don't abandon your First Amendment rights when you start a company. You don't abandon your First Amendment rights when you decide to sell cakes. You have a First Amendment right to conduct your business as you see fit, as long as it is not infringing on the rights of other people. And the left would say, well, they have, that gay couple has a right to get their

gay wedding cake wherever they want to. And we would say, no, no, no. You don't. You don't. You don't have a right to buy a cake wherever you want it. You can go anywhere. You can go anywhere to buy that gay wedding cake. You do not have a right to force someone to provide you with a specific service that goes against their First Amendment right. And so the left and the right see rights differently. The right says, okay, our rights are recognized. First of all, they're given by God, but they're recognized by the Constitution, whereas the left is really talking about a lot of times privileges that they want to make rights. And they believe that those privileges should actually trump the constitutional rights that we have like religious liberty.

That's not everyone on the left, but that is leftism as an ideology. So that is what is at stake if they try to pack the court. Privileges become rights and they trump actual constitutional rights like religious liberty. And so what do we do if all of that happens? If they just they're going to abolish the electoral college, if they decide that they're going to reconfigure the Senate, I mean, all of this is very difficult to do. They couldn't do it, you know, automatically and immediately. If they get rid of the filibuster, all of all of these are ways to circumvent the democratic process so they can have as much power as possible. And of course, they accuse Donald Trump of being an authoritarian, but we know what's true. I mean, this is what

leftism does. Leftism has always been in the way of tyranny and just gaining more and more power at the expense of the people that voted them in in the name of compassion. That is what leftism is. That's what leftism does. And that is what they will do. They are trying, they do not care that most of the country doesn't want to abolish the electoral college. They do, they do not care if most of the country doesn't want to, you know, abolish the first and second amendments. That is why they want to expand the court because we don't have to vote on who is a justice. They get to pack the court and they can use the court as an extension of a legislative body to be able to ram through particular policies that they know people wouldn't actually go for if it was up for if it was up to

us. So that is what the Democrats are going to try to do. Every constitutional right, everything that we hold dear will be on the line. Absolutely. What do we do if all of that happens? Well, we continue to do what we're doing now. I mean, we're going to wake up the day after the election, no matter who wins. And we're going to say, this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. And we're going to remember that the Lord is on his throne. And that he is not surprised. He's not thrown off. He's not taken aback by anything that happens so that governments are instituted by God. in the same way that Trump was instituted by God and Obama was instituted by God, the next president and the next Congress will be instituted by God.

That doesn't mean that it pleases him the things that they are, that they plan to do. Of course, he is not, when God institutes particular governments, that doesn't mean that he is endorsing a particular candidate. But in his sovereignty, he is doing whatever he is doing for his own glory and according to his perfect plan of redemption. no matter who is in power, we know that Jesus is king. We know that he is coming back. He will once and for all defeat evil forever. And so that is what we trust in. That is what we have our hope in.

And we stay engaged. We keep talking about the things that we're doing, the things that they are doing, the people in power. We hold our governors, our state legislatures in power. Really, what's more important than anything is that, not more important than anything, but just politically in a worldly sense, that Republicans retain the Senate and that your state legislatures stay red. That is much more important than who becomes president. Of course, we're going to vote for Trump and hope for the best there.

But what is more important to your rights is that Republicans keep the Senate and that they retain the state legislatures that they have. If those things are lost, it's going to be a tough go of it. But again, we trust in the Lord and we trust that ultimately things are going to be better than okay. We're not going to have sin or sadness or political division or persecution at all anymore one day. And so we still rejoice. And our joy in the midst of chaos, in the midst of fear, is our testimony to a hurting and to a chaotic world. Hey, this is Steve Deast. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country, aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against

first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Okay, here is a little bit of a different question. What do you think about people eating organic gluten-free or dairy-free?

Do I think it's worth it? Well, I am not a dietitian. I'm not a nutritionist by any means. And so, you know, I mean, some of this stuff, is it a marketing scam in some ways at some places? I'm sure that's true. to eat, I mean, when I'm grocery shopping anyway, we try to eat organic as much as possible. I can't say that everything that I eat at a Tex-Mex restaurant is organic. But, you know, we do our best when we're grocery shopping to do that. I think anything can become an idol. And so certainly

being obsessive over any kind of, any kind, any type of food can certainly become idolatrous. But for a lot of people, I understand it's also for health reasons. Like, if you're not, If you're lactose intolerant, yeah, you got to eat dairy-free. And we should thank God that, like, we live in a country that you can do that really easily. I mean, thank the Lord for capitalism, that we are actually able to live in a country where if people, if enough people demand something like dairy-free sour cream or whatever it is, someone's going to make it because they want to make money. That is a good thing. And so, sure, yeah, it's fine. I don't really care how people eat.

But of course, any kind of diet, any kind of restriction can become an idol. And certainly if it causes you to look down upon other people who eat differently than you, that's how I feel about veganism too. I don't think veganism is bad. I don't look down upon you if you eat vegan. But I do get upset when vegans look down upon other people who are not vegan. I think that we have the freedom. We have the common grace freedom to eat the way that we want to eat.

And it is such a privilege to even have those options. You know, the vast majority of the world? They don't have the option to eat gluten-free or dairy-free. But here in America, we have so many wonderful privileges because the Lord has blessed us, because of the system of capitalism, that we actually get to pick and choose the kind of diet that we want. When do I think that we'll actually know the results of the election? I think it's going to be several weeks. And that's just like, oh my gosh, you know, if you have ever, one time I ran a half marathon, I think it was 2013.

Maybe, yeah, I think it was 2013. And you get to mile like seven and you're like, I've run a long way. And I still have over six miles left. And that is at the point, I think it might have been like 10 miles for me maybe that I was like, okay, I'm actually really tired and thinking that I have a 5K left really just wears me out. That's kind of how I feel right now. Like, I'm so ready for the election to be over. And then I realize it's not going to be over after the election.

It's just going to keep going. And even after that, like, I still feel like the 2016 election is still being contended. Like, we have just been in this constant battle for the past few years. And I'm just worn out thinking about the facts that it is not going to be over when on election night. I'm excited about watching election night, but if Trump wins, they are not going to concede. If Biden wins, I think that there is a much higher likelihood that Trump will concede, but I still think that there's going to be some back and forth after the election. So I think it's going to be several weeks, and I am really not looking forward to it. So a lot of questions on

how my family is doing. We're doing great. yeah, we're doing really well. My husband is about to turn 30 and he's about to run a marathon. So I was about to say y'all can wish him happy birthday, but he's not on social media, but y'all can be praying for him. He's running in a race this weekend, right? Is it this weekend that he's running in a race? Yeah, I should probably know that. But, so I'm really excited for him. I'm super proud of him. He's a very disciplined person, especially when it comes to to working out. He just decided a few months ago, like, yeah, I think I'm going to run a a marathon. And so he just started going out and running every morning. I mean, he's always been

an athletic guy. And so it's not like, I mean, it was a big feat for him, but maybe not as much as for other people. And he is just stuck to it. I mean, running 16 miles or however long it is, by yourself, that just takes a lot of determination that I probably don't have. So I'm super proud of him. But yeah, we're doing while. We're ready for the weather to cool down a little bit. unfortunately it is still 95 degrees where I am. But thank you all for asking so much. Yes, my family, we are all doing very well. Someone said, can you be in a Bible study with Christians on the left?

Yeah, certainly. I certainly think so. Now, you need to be discerning about who is leading your Bible study, I think, and who is actually teaching you and influencing you. Again, I don't think that means necessarily you have to get out of the Bible study, but you need to be very prepared and equipped before you go to Bible study. And you need to be, you need to know you're a Bible. And you need to have your resources that you are studying from.

You can't just take everything that anyone says. I don't care if they're on the left or the right. You can't take what anyone says completely without checking it against scripture. And so I have a list of resources on my blog, ali bethsucky.com slash blog slash recommended dash resources. I'll put it in the description. And I have a lot of resources for you to learn from. So just make sure that that Bible study, no matter who is leading it, again, left, right, center, whoever, and whoever is in your Bible study, that that is a supplement to the time that you are spinning in God's word. That is a supplement to your prayer life, a supplement to your study of

the Bible because anyone can lead you in the wrong direction, especially if you trust them, especially if they say some things that are true, it's so easy to be manipulated. But yes, I think it's great that you are, that you're there because you can push back against them. You can pray with them and for them. You can challenge one another. I think it's very good. Okay.

Do I think that civil disobedience is justified or moral? I actually did an episode on this, and I will link it in the description. But I did talk about this a few months ago where we talked about should Christians resist tyranny. And I think that that is the title of the episode. Should Christians resist tyranny? So I covered that. And so I'll just let you go listen to that episode if you are interested. If you are interested about it in it, to mask or not to mask. I've answered this question, but I'll ask it again. You know, I wear a mask everywhere that it's required of me. And there are places that I have to go, like to the grocery store, to target wherever that I, you know, that I have to wear a mask.

and I do if I am, you know, very rarely am on an airplane these days, but when I have to be on an airplane, I, of course, wear a mask. I'm not going to, you know, throw a fit about that. We did talk about last week, maybe it was last Wednesday when we talked about the science on masks and we looked at several peer-reviewed studies about the efficacy of masks and how the so-called science has changed on that and how they only provide a very thin layer and only a possible layer of protection. And as Dr. Fouchy said a few months ago, they can actually fill people with a false sense of confidence because you think that you are protecting yourself from people's sickness when really you're not. You are protecting other people possibly from a droplet of your asymptomatic COVID from going into their nose or mouth, their eyes. I mean, I guess a mask doesn't protect your eyes.

But it doesn't fully protect you. And if you're not also distancing yourself and washing your hands, then it's probably not going to do. you that much good. Unfortunately, I mean, I don't know what else to do in places that require you to wear a mask. You got to wear a mask. Hopefully it will be over soon. The WHO came out and said they don't think lockdowns are the best way to deal with the virus. Thanks so much for letting us know this now. I'd be interested to see if at some point they'll say, oh yeah, and by the way, we don't think masks are great either. So we'll see about that. Okay, how to know when to start a family. I get asked this question a lot. And I don't know your

particular situation. I don't know if you are a missionaries, if you are fully dedicated to mission work. I don't know if you're still in school or your financial situation. And so, of course, I can't speak objectively to exactly what you should do. That is going to take, you know, wisdom and counsel and discernment and prayer and all of that. But I argue this in my book. If you are a married couple and you are physically and mentally capable, then you should have children. Now, is there some nuance in there probably? Are there some situations where that is not the best choice? Sure.

I have listened to John Piper talk about this very often that, of course, the Bible says that singleness is a gift because you can focus more on the Lord. you can dedicate all of your time and energy and effort to serving the Lord. And marriage inevitably is going to distract you from that. However, if you cannot control your sexual desires and if you want to be married, then you should get married. That is what Paul says. So if singleness is a gift because it can give you more time and more margin to dedicate

yourself to the Lord, then not having kids could be seen as that. but I think that it's very important that you are honest. Are you not having kids? Not necessarily the person asking this question, but anyone, are you not having kids specifically expressly to dedicate more time to mission work and to ministry? That might be a biblical justification. Might be a biblical justification to put off having children. But I don't think the Bible gives us any room to not have children because we want to travel more

because we just don't feel like it. We don't want that kind of sacrifice. We don't think that we're mature enough. We just like our time and our schedule the way that we want it. I say that as someone who, you know, we, I think it was three years before we started trying to have a baby. And so I've been where you are just kind of thinking, well, you know, I want to, you know, I want to wait until we do X, Y, Z.

But I simply don't think that the Bible gives that as a justification for not having children. children. Those are, and I mean this as someone who has been there. So I mean this in the most loving way possible. Those are selfish reasons to not have kids. I think it's wrong to put off marriage for strictly selfish reasons. I think it's wrong to put off kids for selfish reasons because what that mentality says, at least implicitly, is that you view kids as burdens and that you view yourself as a potential victim of parenthood rather than a beneficiary of parenthood. and rather than seeing children as blessings. The Bible continually consistently throughout the canon calls children blessings.

A woman getting pregnant is a blessing. It is a good thing. It is a reason for rejoicing. And that is how we as Christians are to view children. And so I think we have to be really honest with ourselves about the reason that we're putting off kids. Again, I can't speak to your specific financial situation, where you're living, what life looks like for you. but there are particular selfish reasons that I don't think the Bible offers this justifications for not having kids.

And I also don't think that fear of the future is a good reason to not have kids, at least not right now in America. I know a lot of people are afraid of persecution and rightfully so. A lot of people are scared about socialism, rightfully so. But you have to remember, again, God sees children as blessings. and if he chooses to blast you with children, I know a lot of people struggle with infertility, a lot of people have had miscarriages.

And so there are a lot of people out there who desperately want to have kids who wish that they just had the option to put off kids or have kids, but they have struggled a lot with that. And so just remember that when you are either complaining about your children and what a burden they are or you are talking about how you want to fulfill

your self-centered wish list, before you have kids. There are a lot of people who wish they were in your same place and could easily have children if they wanted to. But back to the fear of the future, you also have to remember, yes, God is sovereign, but also he places every single person within the generation that he wants them to be in. And he places in front of every generation whatever challenges that he wants them to face. And he equips the Christians in that generation to face those obstacles exactly

how he wants them to for his own glory. And so you have to think about also that children, that Christians are a credit to society, not a debit. And so we are giving good things to the future. We are giving good things to society by giving the future Christian, biblical, loving, kind, strong, bold, gospel-sharing evangelists. And so think about how. having children like that, not as, not as something that is either going to take away from your life or is going to, you know, add fear to your life because of future unknowns. The future has always been unknown. The future has always been unknown. And it shouldn't stop us from doing what we believe, you know, God has called us to do. So that's all I have

time for today. Thank you guys so much for listening. I will be back here on Friday with Senator Ted Cruz. We're going to talk about the Supreme Court and court packing and all that good stuff. I will see you guys then. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles,

faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us.