Errors in Trans-lation

The Bible provides encouragement for us to make sure that we are grounded in Christ and that our lives are built on His foundation. Jeremiah 17 reminds us:
7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.'

So, there is the key to a satisfying life - trusting in God and putting our hope in Him.  The world is full of false promises and fruitless illusions, that will not produce peace and joy in our hearts. God calls us to be rooted in Him and in His principles, realizing that true growth and spiritual maturity come as we are devoted to His ways.  Human wisdom will deceive us and lead us astray; God's wisdom will provide us with reliable direction by which we can stand confident and firm in an unstable world.

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We have ideological and philosophical cancers in our culture today, which are spreading and infect hearts and minds. That's not my analogy, it's the apostle Paul's; he writes in 2nd Timothy 2:
15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.
17 And their message will spread like cancer.

Across the country, state legislatures are passing laws that would prevent males who identify as females from competing against females in school sports.  This comes as the federal government is continuing to push an agenda that considers "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" as protected groups under Title IX, which was designed to, ironically enough, protect females!  Not presumed females.

Alabama is one of the states that has passed such a law, which was signed by the governor.  And, it seems that weekly, more states are being added to the list.  

Interestingly enough, a Morning Consult poll from several weeks ago finds significant support for what are called "trans females," who are actually biological males, competing against biological females.  The survey summary says:

In a Morning Consult survey conducted April 16-19, 40 percent of U.S. adults said they support allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports at the collegiate level, while 42 percent opposed their participation. Opinions about transgender participation in high school girls’ sports and professional women’s sports were virtually the same.

It goes on to say, "Nearly 1 in 3 Americans...said they 'strongly oppose' allowing transgender women to play sports against other women in college."

There are those that say allowing boys to compete in girls' sports is "fair," but is it fair to young ladies who have been training to compete in certain sports to have to compete against boys who may have a competitive advantage?  The polling data shows that the majority of Americans believe that biological males who identify as women have that advantage; the summary says:

While Americans are fairly evenly split on whether transgender women should be allowed to play women’s sports, most believe that transgender women have a competitive advantage over cisgender women, or those whose gender identity matches the one they were assigned at birth. 

Fifty-six percent of adults agreed transgender women generally have an advantage, compared with 21 percent who disagreed with that notion.

There's that phrase: "assigned at birth."  Well, who assigned someone's gender?  The doctor, a nurse, the parents, or perhaps the Creator, whose Word says that from the beginning He created male and female - you can't say a person's gender is "assigned," unless you are referring to God Himself.  By the way, someone has invented the ridiculous term, "cisgender," to describe someone whose gender identity matches his or her biology. 

The article also mentions that states who pass this legislation may run afoul of the NCAA, which had released a statement "supporting transgender participation in college sports and warning lawmakers that it will only hold events in locations that are 'free of discrimination.' Under NCAA rules, transgender women are allowed to participate in women’s sports after undergoing one year of testosterone suppression treatment."

Beth Stelzer, founder of a consortium called Save Women's Sports, who is referred to in the article, "said lawmakers need to prioritize fairness in women’s sports over the potential short-term economic impact of losing NCAA events."

And, while we're using new terms and phrases to reflect a more enlightened age, to redefine the word, "mother" as "birthing people" is also problematic.  According to FoxNews.com, a Missouri Congresswoman, Cori Bush, as well as the National Abortion Rights Action League used that phrase the week before Mother's Day.  U.S. House members pushed back at an attempt recently to establish a "gender-free rules package;" the article notes:

In an effort to be inclusive to those who don't identify as a specific gender, the rules package strips all mention of gender-specific pronouns and terms such as "man," "woman," "mother" and "son."

The attempt to placate a small swath of the population has led to language madness and odd policies. And, dominant media culture plays along.  This poll gives us an idea about what real Americans are thinking, yet it would have perhaps been unfathomable even a decade ago that sports participation would be governed by one's declared "identity" rather than his or her actual gender. 

We have to remember to live in the world of reality.  Sometimes that will mean withdrawing from exposure to media, especially social media.  The headlines can produce headaches and detract us from the fresh truth of God's Word.  On today's Meeting House, May Patterson provides encouragement to seek the Lord and draw near to Him.  Our devotion to truth helps us stay grounded in an unstable environment.