“ive always thought it was sort counter productive to Christianity for the most devout to not marry and procreate.”
As a married man and a grandfather, my perspective is that a celibate person can raise the bar dramatically, in terms of how much he or she can give.
If a man like me wanted to enter the priesthood, he would have to abandon his responsibilities to his family—cut ties entirely—if he were to have any hope of being half as good a priest as Abp. Fulton Sheen.
Any given person only has 100%. That particular thing *is* a zero-sum game. No matter how you add it up, only the celibate can give 100% to their vocations.
And yet Scripture teaches otherwise.
My pastor, who is the most amazing priest I have ever met, often tells the congregation that a priest is not just a job, but a vocation and a life that requires all of his time. He would not be able to tend to his parish and all of the needs of being pastor if he had a wife and family. He exudes love and devotion, and I am thankful to God that I met him.
And yet a single person has all the responsibilities to bear themselves. They have to do everything involved with running a household on their own.
With two people, they can share that burden.
In the end, I don’t see that a single person actually has more free time than a married person. They just have to manage their time better because they have to consider someone besides themselves in their plans.
It forces a more selfless existence.
So by your reasoning.... it would be best if all believers chose to enter the priesthood so they could devote 100% of their time to prayer or whatever.
And in doing so, end in one generation the Christian church on earth.