If there is something I am incredibly tired of, it is the mommy wars. Anyone who follows my blog knows me as that girl who is always exposing the problem of the mommy wars, writing about how they are adversely affecting the church and sharing God’s truth on what we can do about the problem that is now seeping into even our churches and Christian groups.
I’ve known the mommy wars to be a problem in our churches for a while now, but my exposure to that truth rose to a whole new level when I witness a woman wielding the Word of God as a tool to beat over the head of another woman in a Christian mothering FB group.
A mom had posted in the group asking a question about baby cereal and at what age other mamas started feeding it to their babies. The conversation was going along well when another mama shared her opinion that baby cereal was not a good option for little ones. The original poster replied by saying something to the effect that she had already decided to feed her baby infant cereal and was just seeking the input from other mamas as to when to start doing so.
That is when the commentor came back, leaving a comment with the reference Proverbs 12:15, which happens to say this: “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.”
Yep. She had essentially just called the first mom a fool for deciding to go ahead with her choice of feeding her little one baby cereal.
There is something I feel it important to say here and that is this: God’s definition of foolishness does not include feeding your baby cereal! God’s definition of foolishness is choosing to not walking in His ways, according to His truth and His Word. Baby cereal has nothing to do with it.
As a long-time researcher on all things motherhood and parenting, I understand the hoopla over feeding choices and babies. There are those who choose to breastfeed and those who choose to formula feed. There are those who believe you must wait to feed your baby solids until 6 months of age in order to avoid gut problems and there are those who begin feeding their babies solids at 4 months. There are those who say that rice baby cereal is full of arsenic and therefore should not be fed to babies and there are those who do feed their infants baby cereal with no noticeable side effects at all.
Regardless of what our research, family dynamics, and needs may lead us to do in these areas, there is something we would all do well to remember: none of these issues is on par with Scripture, not one of them is commanded or warned against by God, not one is a hill on which to die. Paul even tells us himself that “bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)”. In other words, seeking to be healthy and do what’s best for ourselves and our children is a good pursuit. It is a worthwhile endeavor. But it is not to be our sole or even primary focus. Raising our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, training them up in the way that they should go - those are the things we should truly be focusing on. Not whether or not we fed them baby cereal the day before they turned 6 months.
So, mamas, here’s what I want you to hear today:
You were not a fool for feeding your infant baby cereal.
You were not a fool for choosing not to feed your infant baby cereal.
You were not a fool for choosing to breastfeed.
You were not a fool for not choosing to breastfeed.
You were not a fool for choosing to wait until 6 months to introduce your baby to solids.
You were not a fool for choosing to introduce your baby to solids at 5 months.
Because here is the thing: it isn’t that research is unimportant. It isn’t that we shouldn’t take the time to think through each parenting decision carefully, knowledgeably choosing what we are going to do and why. But it is important to understand what is Biblical truth and what isn’t, what God has spoken to and what He has left to our own individual freedom and personal choice.
There are hills on which to die and foolish choices which should be addressed. Feeding your baby cereal cannot be defined as either one.
