A Screwtape For Those Considering Children

My affectionate Wormwood,

Did you hear what your charges were discussing? Reproducing! We can't let them think of doing such a thing.  They will inevitably want to share the enemy with their progeny as they seem to want to talk about him with everyone and their children will be no different. Raising children in their home ... of course the kids are bound to see and hear all the lies that these people spread. You need to get a good lead and I'm going to give you a few tips.

First, before they even make an attempt grip them with fear. If they aren't grasping that babies are a burden and nothing but trouble then remind them that with a baby they will never get to do anything they want to do. Make their outside activities, trips and fun seem so enticing that they won't want to give it up. Plant in her that her only worth is what she can do in a job outside the home and continue to let culture and the media tell her that motherhood is the most narrow and mindless thing she could do.  The enemy will try and teach them that motherhood is the greatest of vocations but don't let her believe that. Surround her with mothers who tell her that they "want their life back" so she can hear their experience. She will view this as trustworthy

If they do have children already, let them see more would be burdensome. Let the husband be afraid that he can't provide for another mouth to feed and don't let him think about sacrificing anything for his family. That we can't fight against once he decides to do it so please be careful.  Keep their current kids whining, and let them them think that the newborn will come out at this stage too. If the kids are older let them think the new baby would be too far apart and inevitably make their lives difficult. If you have to stress them that they won't be able to give enough love to the new baby and their current children as they are people that actually want to love their children this will make them think twice.  We have done a lot of work to embed birth control and abortion as mainstays. It's been tough but we have been successful. We have tricked them to thinking that contraception is safe and by and large they don't believe it when they hear that it allows a child to be conceived but not survive. They even believe that abortion is more about a woman's right to choose than the rights of her child. Amazing, I know.  If you can get her to take contraception, great-- but really push sterilization. Let her think fertility is a disease and you will easily sway her away from children.

If that doesn't work which is may not because if they are talking about children they have the strange idea that a baby would be a blessing, do whatever you can to make them busy. On the days they could actually conceive make sure they are too tired or not home or doing something. If they are home get a friend to call for dinner, have them think about errands they need to run. If that doesn't work attack their marriage. Let him say something incentive so she won't want to be intimate. If that doesn't work which it may not since they are close, let the wife think that her husband is no longer her ally or friend. This is tough but if you are diligent you can do it.  When they are too busy  or tired to be intimate let her think that he allows this because he doesn't really want kids. Plant seeds of deception. She won't want to push him or force him and so she will abandon the idea if you can turn her head.

If you can't distract them or separate them then you need to work fiercely to remind her that getting a perfect baby isn't easy and can involve a lot of sadness and pain for her. Remind her of all her friends who deal with infertility or miscarriage. Convince her because she cares about babies that this will inevitably happen to her and remind her of this with ever negative pregnancy test. Overwhelm her with fear so you can stress her body and make it harder to conceive.  If she struggles with infertility or a miscarriage convince her it's better not to try. Let her confuse mercy with fear and this will push her to not put herself and her husband through the pain that their attempts at having a baby could bring. Let her forget what true mercy and grace is and whatever you do don't let her remember that the enemy can work outside of time, diseases or circumstances. Let her think she is alone for if she asks from the enemy she will receive. Let the husband feel as though he can't possibly say anything right in these circumstances and let him say nothing. This will help her to feel alone and that's right where we are most successful.

Should you fail completely at least we will have another charge and you can even use these children to distract these two from the enemy and from each other.  Be on guard as this is a last resort.

Your Malevolent Uncle,

Screwtape

___________
The original Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis depict an older demon writing to a younger demon. It's a thought provoking and enjoyable read and I thought creating one would be fun. Just for clarification babies are precious, contraception does cause abortion, and babies are never a burden. For the mommies struggling with miscarriage, infertility, or simply the challenges of a TTC journey know that my heart and prayers are with you. While I kept the post concise I know there are many more things I could have touched on here and know that the most important thing I hope to share is not to lose hope. Our God is able to do much more than we can imagine. <3

-Anita