Hiding in the Dark

We have the capability to combat the lies of the enemy with the truth of Scripture. But, we have to be discerning and sensitive to the false narratives that are all around us. Then, we counter those with the truth that we find in God's Word, in partnership with the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught in John 16:
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

This is the spiritual battle being faced by a Florida family.  Recently, January Littlejohn, who has been a guest on The Meeting House on Faith Radio, was recognized by the President at his address to Congress. A CBN.com article states:

“This started for my family at the height of COVID in 2020,” January Littlejohn told CBN News. “Our daughter fell prey to the lies of gender identity ideology and that she was born in the wrong body in May of 2020. And so this was shortly after three of her friends at our local middle school had also started suddenly identifying as some form of transgender.”

She said: "Like so many parents, I trusted the school,” adding, “I had no reason at that time not to, and, in fact, I was volunteer of the year at the school. I was a huge proponent for public schools and teachers. I dedicated hundreds of hours to volunteering in the classroom.”

The article goes on to say:

Littlejohn said she reached out to her daughter’s teacher and disclosed what was happening with her daughter. She told the educator she was “not affirming any kind of false sexual identity” and that she was engaging a counselor to assist.

“We did know that our child was struggling and we were very concerned as her parents, because nobody loves and knows their child more than a parent does,” she said. “So we were handling this as a family.”

Littlejohn has been embroiled in a legal challenge rooted in what she claims happened after her initial email to the teacher. She said her daughter met with the school without her knowledge and was asked questions about restrooms, among other issues.

CBN notes: "Littlejohn said a transgender transition plan was essentially created 'behind closed doors' with a social worker, school counselor, and assistant principal — and that she had no idea."  And, she cites this action by the school:

“They asked her which restroom and locker room she preferred to use, which sex she preferred to room with on overnight field trips,” she said. “And they put the burden of whether or not the parent will be notified or even aware that these type of secret social transitions occur because they ask the child, ‘How should we refer to you when speaking to your parent? Should we use your birth name and pronouns or your preferred name and pronouns?'”

Littlejohn said these types of plans are being crafted all over the country, and argued the school district in question took her ability away to keep her daughter safe.

As far as the status of that court challenge, last month, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Littlejohns in their lawsuit against the school district. The New York Times reported:

...two of the three judges who heard the case for the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit rejected the argument made by Ms. Littlejohn and her husband, and upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss the case.

“Even if the Littlejohns felt that defendants’ efforts to help their child were misguided or wrong, the mere fact that the school officials acted contrary to the Littlejohns’ wishes does not mean that their conduct ‘shocks the conscience’ in a constitutional sense,” Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum wrote in the majority opinion.

A lawyer for the couple did not say whether the Littlejohns would appeal, but said “we cannot allow this assault on parental rights to remain unchallenged.”

Even one of the judges that voted to rule against the Littlejohns was troubled by the school district's actions.  The Times said:

In his concurring opinion, Judge Kevin C. Newsom said he considered the actions taken by the school district officials “shameful.” But the question at hand, he wrote, was “whether it was unconstitutional.”

“If I were a legislator, I’d vote to change the policy that enabled the defendants’ efforts to keep the Littlejohns in the dark,” he wrote. “But — and it’s a big but — judges aren’t just politicians in robes, and they don’t (or certainly shouldn’t) just vote their personal preferences.”

Senior Judge Gerald Bard Tjoflat, who dissented, warned that the decision “ignores bedrock separation of powers principles, waters down fundamental rights and flies in the face of our prior panel precedent rule.”

This case shows the extent to which people in power who embraced this harmful gender agenda will go - while some would say that the teenager was not forced to make a decision, the secret nature of the conversations with school officials clearly suggests coercion - plus, keeping the parents in the dark is a bold rejection of parents rights and responsibility before God to raise their children. 

As we live out the Christian life, we have to make sure that we are devoted to shining the light of truth into our situations.  We mustn't allow the enemy to gain a foothold, and we counter his lies by knowing and standing on truth.  

One further note: we have to make sure that we are not attempting to hide from our Heavenly Father, as Adam and Eve tried to do in the Garden - it's an exercise in futility.  He knows all, and by His Spirit, He is revealing ways in which we do not conform with His principles, exposing those hidden places that we may not even see or consciously recognize.  We must take seriously the admonition to walk in His light.