Have you ever wished you could rewrite your birth story? I have ached with that longing. Perhaps you have too. If God had consulted some of us before we were born, our lives might have turned out radically different. Maybe you‘d boast a heavily muscled body, or for ladies, a heart-stopping beauty like my wife’s. For others, it would be another skin color or even different parents, like those of Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba. We are born with features and circumstances we cannot change. But if we can’t reshape our own beginnings, we can at least try to rewrite the story for our children—like securing their birth in America.
Yet, that dream has just been shattered. In recent days, the U.S. Embassy in Uganda has barred Ugandan women from traveling there for the primary purpose of giving birth. This will block many from seizing the coveted American citizenship, which President Donald Trump called “one of the most priceless gifts ever granted by human hands,” for their children. With poverty and instability plaguing our country, who wouldn’t seriously yearn to secure this gift for their children? If I had the money, I too would chase that dream for my future children.
But here’s the irony, we have forsaken the far more precious citizenship—citizenship in heaven, paid for, not by gold or silver, but by the precious blood of God’s own Son. Like the religious elite of Jesus’ day, we have ignored the weightier matters for passing things of secondary importance (cf. Matthew 23:23). This article will demonstrate how our departure from biblical parenthood has fueled this neglect and challenge readers to refocus on God’s design for parenthood.
The Decay of Biblical Parenthood in Uganda
Parenthood in Uganda, like elsewhere in the world, is under attack and is falling. Worse still, this cancer has infected the church, as many have abandoned the reproaches of Christ for the treasures of Egypt. Unlike our spiritual forefathers, we no longer see ourselves as strangers and exiles on the earth but as natives here for good. Let us examine two key trends that reveal this catastrophe.
Single Mothers: Get Married
Single motherhood has surged in Uganda, and it has become heartbreakingly commonplace. Young women increasingly give birth out of wedlock and raise their children alone or, worse, abandon them to whomever it might concern. Statistics tell us that one in every four mothers in Uganda is single. This contradicts God’s design. The Scriptures envision a child being raised by both a father and mother. Children raised by only a mother are more likely to rebel against authority and lack a father’s spiritual guidance. They also face greater vulnerability to poverty and emotional instability. This crisis has been caused by men (or rather boys pretending to be men) who refuse to take responsibility and mature into godly husbands. Is this any wonder in a culture that trivializes marriage and where men shamelessly boast of their adulterous exploits? Feminism has worsened this by dismissing the indispensable role fathers play and glorifying the myth of an independent woman. All these are deviations from God’s order. The Bible declares that men who do not provide for their families are worse than unbelievers (1 Timothy 5:8).
We must repent. Moreover, women should seek to be married instead of mothering children in fornication. As Hebrews 13:4 says:
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Parents must be more involved in the lives of their children. Fathers should guide their daughters to find godly husbands to build godly homes. This is how we raise children for heaven.
Working Wives: Be Workers at Home
I must clarify what I mean by “working wife.” I mean a wife whose work rips her from her home. For example, a woman who slaves at 9-to-5 job away from home, Monday to Friday, falls into this category. Shockingly, in our day, many women have celebrated this. A mother abandons her six-month-old baby to a housemaid or, worse, a daycare to work a job elsewhere. If they knew better, they’d weep over this. As Scripture shows, the duty of providing for a household belongs to men, not women. The Bible commands that younger women are to be trained to:
”love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled” (Titus 2:4-5).
Ignoring this mandate to nurture children and manage the home has caused countless problems. Many mothers have surrendered their children to schools and housemaids to raise them up for them. They rarely find time to bond with their children, as career and work have become their priorities. This has been worsened by feminism, which fails to recognize that, though men and women are created equal, they were designed for different roles. Thus, women have been lured into taking on a role meant for men. Men have also dumped their families, forcing women to work in order to survive. To address this crisis, we must turn to Christ. His Word sets us free from chasing after worldly gain, securing treasures that moth and rust cannot destroy. Men must man-up into their God-given roles as providers. Women must prioritize motherhood and embrace it as their God-given mission above career or work prospects that pull them away from the home. We need to cultivate a habit of contentment with what God has given us instead of sacrificing parenthood on the altar of money (1 Timothy 6:6).
Conclusion: Pursuing Heavenly Citizenship
It is not a crime for Ugandan parents to seek U.S. citizenship for their children. But our senseless pursuit for earthly gain misses the eternal priority of raising children who fear the Lord. The gospel—Christ’s death and resurrection for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)—is the only way to heavenly citizenship. This must be our ambition above all earthly achievements. Heavenly citizenship outshines everything we might think to be of value such as education, career or business. We must build families founded on biblical principles (Ephesians 5:22-33). Our churches must lead the crusade, teaching God’s Word above the promises this world dangles at us. No earthly passport can replace the celestial citizenship won through faith in Jesus (Philippians 3:20). Like the prophet Moses, let us choose Christ over the riches of this world.
