15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.16For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.17And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
There is confusion in our world today. We become disoriented when we depart from the absolute principles that are found in God's Word. We attempt to accommodate sin and end up in a dangerous position in our spirits. We have to recognize that alignment with God's ways is the way of peace and the path of clarity. He desires for us to embrace His truth, to understand and apply His principles, and to activate His Spirit as He teaches and empowers us to follow Christ in a world that has a propensity to compromise or reject that truth.
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4And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'5and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?6So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
The Lincoln Public Schools district in Nebraska is concerned about gender confusion and thinks it has taken some steps to address it. According to ChristianNews.net, the district's teacher and administrative training urges faculty to stop using gender-specific terms such as “boys and girls,” in favor of more inclusive language so as to accommodate transgender students or those who don’t think they fit into any gender.
One of the documents issued to teachers to promote the use of more gender-neutral terms is produced by the organization Gender Spectrum and outlines “12 Easy Steps On the Way to Gender Inclusiveness.” It gives these directions: “Don’t use phrases such as ‘boys and girls,’ ‘you guys,’ ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ and similarly gendered expressions to get kids’ attention,” It goes on to say, “Instead say things like ‘calling all readers,’ or ‘hey campers’ or ‘could all of the athletes come here.’ Create classroom names and then ask all of the ‘purple penguins’ to meet at the rug.”
The Lincoln Public Schools district in Nebraska is concerned about gender confusion and thinks it has taken some steps to address it. According to ChristianNews.net, the district's teacher and administrative training urges faculty to stop using gender-specific terms such as “boys and girls,” in favor of more inclusive language so as to accommodate transgender students or those who don’t think they fit into any gender.
One of the documents issued to teachers to promote the use of more gender-neutral terms is produced by the organization Gender Spectrum and outlines “12 Easy Steps On the Way to Gender Inclusiveness.” It gives these directions: “Don’t use phrases such as ‘boys and girls,’ ‘you guys,’ ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ and similarly gendered expressions to get kids’ attention,” It goes on to say, “Instead say things like ‘calling all readers,’ or ‘hey campers’ or ‘could all of the athletes come here.’ Create classroom names and then ask all of the ‘purple penguins’ to meet at the rug.”
National Review reports that the teachers were also given a handout created by the Center for Gender Sanity, which explains to them that “Gender identity . . . can’t be observed or measured, only reported by the individual,” and an infographic called “The Genderbred Person,” which was produced by www.ItsPronouncedMetroSexual.com.
Despite controversy, Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel has declared that he is “happy” and “pleased” with the training documents.
Despite controversy, Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel has declared that he is “happy” and “pleased” with the training documents.
ChristianNews.net refers to a report from The Lincoln Journal-Star about handouts that discuss the
that discuss the “continuum of sex and gender, and that the human condition doesn’t operate on a strict binary system of male and female.”
Joel additionally outlined that although the training is in place, teachers are not required to eliminate gender-specific terms.
“Never once has anyone inside our system mandated that a teacher take [the words] ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ or ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ out of their interactions with children or interaction with adults,” he said.
that discuss the “continuum of sex and gender, and that the human condition doesn’t operate on a strict binary system of male and female.”
Joel additionally outlined that although the training is in place, teachers are not required to eliminate gender-specific terms.
“Never once has anyone inside our system mandated that a teacher take [the words] ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ or ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ out of their interactions with children or interaction with adults,” he said.
No doubt, when the school board met this past Tuesday, there was, according to The Lincoln Journal-Star, an overflow crowd that weighed in on gender inclusiveness training for teachers, with some admonishing the district for promoting a political agenda and others commending it for its efforts.
More than 40 people spent more than 2½ hours taking turns at the podium to offer their views on the issue. The school board website quotes Board President Richard Meginnis, who said, “It is a testament to our community that we all came together and had a calm and civil conversation.” The website quotes the Superintendent, who thanked “all the parents and patrons who took the time to come out and share their thoughts…It’s heartening to hear so many of our trusted, loyal LPS supporters…hopefully have an understanding of what we’re trying to do… is always going to be about creating relationships with individual students…so that those students can be successful.”
More than 40 people spent more than 2½ hours taking turns at the podium to offer their views on the issue. The school board website quotes Board President Richard Meginnis, who said, “It is a testament to our community that we all came together and had a calm and civil conversation.” The website quotes the Superintendent, who thanked “all the parents and patrons who took the time to come out and share their thoughts…It’s heartening to hear so many of our trusted, loyal LPS supporters…hopefully have an understanding of what we’re trying to do… is always going to be about creating relationships with individual students…so that those students can be successful.”
I think you have to read these news accounts with a certain amount of dismay. If a person is confused about his or her gender, despite the biological evidence, that person is in need of understanding and compassion - absolutely. I would recommend a re-emphasis on God's design. But, to accommodate the misguided rejection of that design is definitely not the correct plan of action.
While the Superintendent attempts to couch the training materials as "optional," the very fact that they are even being made available in the first place should lead to concern. System leaders, while touting the citizens' civil behavior, show no signs of backing down from this outrageous policy - purple penguins? Really? Don't use references to boys and girls?
The truth is that the Bible teaches that God created us male and female. Period. When one departs from the Biblical and biological model of a so-called "binary"system and moves to a view of a "gender spectrum," then you are opening the door for all sorts of confusion. The confusion is the by-product of the accommodation - if you plant thoughts that somehow verify misguided ideas about gender, then impressionable young minds perhaps would seize on those, which then causes public officials to think that they somehow need to accommodate the confusion. It's a vicious and destructive cycle.
This is another indication of the re-definition of societal norms in our society. Christians necessarily need to speak with clarity on this and a variety of other issues - the Bible teaches in terms of absolutes; modern culture has crafted shades of gray. And, when you depart from the black-and-white, tried-and-true principles that teach us how to live and even how to understand scientific facts, then you open the door to all sorts of errant ideas. I think it's important that we appreciate who God has made us to be.
I would dare say that the confusion doesn't go away just because you would try to accommodate it. In the name of tolerance, our society has a greater acceptance level of departure from the Scriptures. We can be challenged to be people of clarity, who stand against the dangerous decline of morality, but who are dedicated to helping people who are experiencing confusion in their own minds, regarding this and a host of other issues.
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