More in Our Troubling Day

An article appeared in Sunday's "Variety" section of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  The article was entitled "beyond gender."  I think the substance of this article represents the decadence of current American culture.  Let me quote from the article:
     "Gender is a fixed fact of life for most people, from the moment the doctor says, 'It's a boy' or 'It's a girl.'  But a small yet increasingly visible segment of the GLBT community is challenging the idea that every person must live as one gender or the other.  Instead they're choosing to live openly - personally and professionally - as both, or somewhere in the middle.
     "People who experience a blending or alternation of gender states are recognized by the American Psychological Association as a subset under the umbrella term of transgender.  But unlike some transgender individuals, such as recent Wikileaks newsmaker Bradley-turned-Chelsea Manning, who seek to transition to the gender that reflects their inner gender identity, some people prefer not to be confined by 'binary' gender at all.
     "'We live in a culture that's pretty gender-binary,' said Katie Spencer, a psychologist and coordinator of the transgender health services program at the University of Minnesota Medical School.  'There is a lot of pressure on people to pick a box.  Lots of practical things - like restrooms and pronouns - push people to pick one.
     "Pronouns get complicated when 'he' and 'she' aren't options.  Some genderfluid people prefer 'they.' Others advocate new neutral pronouns, such as 'ze.'"

The article is filled with illustrations from individuals who are men one moment and women another moment.  Men and women who vacillate between genders, depending upon the situation.  Now, I don't know about you, but I would find this confusing: Do I dress today as a male or as a female?  Do I display my feminine side today or my masculine side?  Am I a Jim or a Julie?  And how confused would be those colleagues at work: one day you are Jim, the next day you might be Julie. 

Friends, as I read the above article last Sunday afternoon, my thoughts drifted back to that very first chapter in the Bible.  There we read, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:26-27).  Did you see what the text clearly states?  God made only two types of people: male and female.  And God so created the sexes that each was clearly distinct from the other.  A look in the mirror told whether one was male or female.  The concept of genderfluid individuals is foreign to Scriptural teachings. 

For centuries the distinction between the sexes was clearly defined.  Little girls grew up playing with dolls and playing house.  Little boys grew up playing with trucks and playing backyard football.  Both were making discoveries of what was expected because of their sexuality.  Along came World War II, and with the men off to war in two theatres, work at home became the responsibility of wives and mothers.  And, following the war, many of those wives and mothers found some satisfaction within the workplace and decided to remain.  More and more women entered the work force.  Some even began doing jobs that had previously only been associated with men.  Then came the clarion call for equality between the sexes.  And the confusion of the roles between the sexes continued to be muddied. 

Now, not only are the gender roles confused, but there is a confusion regarding gender itself.  On some application forms you can check whether you are a male, a female, or other.  Now, friends, I truly do not know what an "other" is.  I don't believe I have ever met an "other."  I have met many males and females, however. 

This article hits home as I am presently meeting with 28 men on Tuesday mornings (6-7:30 a.m.) for a verse-by-verse study in Romans.  Those closing verses of Romans 1 are the subject for next week's lesson.  There the Apostle Paul speaks much of gender confusion.  And he clearly states, in fact he states it three times, that "God gave people over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, to shameful lusts, and to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done" (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). 

There is confusion today because we have abandoned truth found in the Word of God.  Yes, we are to love these people even as Jesus does.  But let us not give acceptance to their gender confusion.  Let's point them to Jesus who can truly set them free to become what God desires them to be. 

Just another sign pointing in the direction of the soon coming of Jesus.  I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait.