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Gender – What’s the Big Deal??

Updated: Dec 4, 2019

May 18, 2013

“On one issue, at least, men and women agree: they both distrust women.” Henry Louis Mencken – American writer, journalist of early 1900’s.


“Last night I was seriously considering whether I was a bisexual or not but I don’t think so though I’m not sure if I’d like to be and argh I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, ….” J.C.S. – contemporary female writer/artist/blogger.


Before I decided to use these two quotes, I looked at many others on the subject of sexes or gender. All confirmed why this subject has been on my mind so much this week, and that we have a real problem on our hands.


In my last post I exhorted those of you who can (and who are married) to have babies, and not listen to the prophets of doom and gloom who say the earth is overpopulated, and therefore we should just adopt puppies instead of having babies. In this post – I want to address what every parent is going to have to help their children grapple with – as they begin to interact with contemporary culture. Though “there is nothing new under the sun” as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, and thus gender confusion and perversion is not new,… the prevalence of gender confusion and perversion is exploding – especially in Western culture and society in the 21st century. And unfortunately – especially in California – where our legislators continue to go to the illlogical extremes with things like genderless restrooms in our public schools – – when society agrees gender is not a God given thing, nor an obvious natural thing, but rather an individual subjective thing – we will soon be reaping the awful fruit of this confusion and perversion even worse than we already are.


To understand this phenomena, we have to go back to the beginning, where we find God – after completing the creation of this magnificent universe (minus humanity), and determining that it met all of His requirements and expectations regarding perfect goodness (Genesis 1:25) – now He is ready to bring forth the pinnacle or crowning glory of His creation = humanity. First we find our triune God – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – having an internal conversation among themselves (notice the plural pronouns), “Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea…..” (vs. 26). Humanity’s origin was far from the primordial soup accident that evolutionary evangelists would like for you to think. Rather the living God was very intentional to create humans who would reflect His glory and attributes (note the repetition of “image and likeness”) as they lived and operated on planet earth.


Theologians have written many volumes on exactly what they think being made in God’s image or likeness means. One thing we know from vs. 26 and the rest of scripture is that God, though three persons – was and is One, and He existed and operated in perfect harmony and unity amidst the diversity of roles the Father, Son and Holy Spirit carried out or assumed throughout eternity. Thus while being made in God’s image goes beyond this, it must start here. He wanted humans to reflect His oneness and relational harmony and unity amidst the diversity that He lovingly and wisely brought forth.


Some knowing that this is His objective – would then maintain that the most cruel and counter productive thing God could have ever done was to create us male and female. But that is exactly what He did. Take a peak at vs. 27, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Some would say this act absolutely destroyed any chance we humans have in living in relational unity and harmony. An increasing and alarming number of people in my neck of the woods are giving up on this ever being a part of their experience.


So what happened? How did we get to the place where there is such cynicism, resentment, mistrust, disrespect of and even hatred and violence towards the opposite sex? Not to mention confusion and rejection of our own sex or gender?


Well we need go no farther than Genesis chapter 3 to see two new (new to Adam and Eve and to humanity) destructive developments that are really at the root of this gender disease. First in vs. 3 Satan enters the picture and immediately goes after the wife/woman and her concept of and trust in God as good and worthy of our trust and obedience. Second, in vs. 6 sin or willfull disobedience and independence from God enter the picture as both Eve and Adam choose to go their own way and do their own thing – taking their destiny into their own hands, and significantly affecting ours.


As Satan’s person and ways develop through the pages of scripture we learn that he absolutely hates God and the people that He has created. He is called the father of lies, the destroyer, the accuser of the brethren, the devil and assorted other descriptive titles that help us see just how diabolical and cruel and evil he is.


As the concept of sin develops throughout the pages of scripture we learn of it that it is an internal – born with – condition of the heart and soul that causes us to assert our independence from God, and that results in enmity towards God, mankind and even our selves.


And one of the things that both Satan and his demons and sin are bent on perverting and corrupting is our concept of gender – both how we feel about our own, and how we feel about the opposite. Until we can readily agree with God that my God given gender at birth is a well intentioned gift from a good God; and that the opposite gender is a brilliant, complimentary, necessary and good creation of an utterly and perfectly good God – – we are going to fall prey to both Satan and sin’s destructive influence.


So one of the things I had to get in touch with when I moved to San Jose (from Knoxville, TN) alone at the age of 19 and a half – to try to get my life together after many failures academically and relationally -was how screwed up I was in this department. The way I saw women and the way I saw myself was in great need of a total re-write or internal overhaul that only the triune God who created me could pull off.


Thankfully and fortunately for my wife, He began a root level transformational work at that time, that He has never let up on, though my cooperation with Him has ebbed and flowed at times. I spent much of my first 19 years contributing to this problem. By His grace and mercy, over these last 38 years, I’m learning to be a part of the solution.


Jesus Christ came to set the captives free, and if there is any area of life where we humans need to be set free from Satan and sin’s destructive influence – – it is herein. Many – like the two I quoted in the beginning – have given up on experiencing the divine destiny that rides on seeing ourselves as He created us and others as He created them. I hope you won’t give up despite the disappointments, abuses, and heart aches that might have been your portion. So much rides on your decision.

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