Be What You Are
“Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female…?”
—Matthew 19:4
Kathy and her husband, David, welcomed their third child into the world on January 1, 2011. They named the baby Storm. The baby was born with beautiful blue eyes, fair hair, and chubby cheeks. There is absolutely no question that the baby is healthy and beautiful. The only real question on everyone’s minds is: what is it? You see, the parents have decided to keep the baby’s gender a secret, and let him/her decide for himself/herself when he/she is ready! Though obviously the parents, two siblings, and two midwives who helped with the at-home delivery know the actual gender of the baby, Kathy and David feel that it is important not to stigmatize the child with preconceived cultural ideas about gender by telling it what it is.[1]
This actual reported news story serves to highlight the fact that our society debates the importance of gender. Confusion over what constitutes manhood and womanhood, or how to define male and female abound. What makes a man a man? What makes a woman a woman? Why can’t one just choose to be the other? In fact, the ongoing debate over same-sex marriage is merely a symptom of the underlying issue of gender confusion. What does it really matter? They ask. Aren’t we just programmed to believe and feel a certain way because of cultural pressures? More and more in our society, gender is being defined not by what you are, but by what you feel that you are.
As crazy as the notion sounds, deciding your gender based on feeling is being propagated by schools, universities, special interest groups, music, television, and even some religious organizations (though they lie outside the boundaries of traditional Christianity). These groups seek to make the gender question open to interpretation. Male/female uniqueness and distinctions are downplayed or even discouraged (“girls are as good as boys,” etc.) Traditional roles are ridiculed (stay-at-home moms, etc.) Often on television programs, those whose lifestyles contradict Christian moral values are portrayed as heroes, normal, or “just as good as everyone else.”
As Christians, we can see that behind all of this confusion lies our culture’s denial of God’s authority. Fundamentally, what people understand about themselves (gender, e.g.) is a reflection of what they believe, or don’t believe, about God. If there is no Creator, then what I am and why I am here are questions open to debate. If there is no Designer, I get to decide how my body is used. If there is no Divine Authority, I get the final say on what’s right for me. I takes the place of God when I chooses not to believe in Him. And when a person becomes the final authority for himself, nothing can be forbidden him.
But the world should see the answers to all of its questions through the living example of the church. The church is, after all, “the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Timothy 3:15). As people who accept God’s authority, the church should be the most settled on what they are and what that means. On the question of gender, however, even good Christians seem to need help. In this society, churches have not always clearly or helpfully addressed issues related to gender (dress, appropriate activities, etc.), and the gender-specific roles that follow a biblical pattern. The visible display of distinction between the genders has been a hot-button issue for decades. On the questions of being male or female and acting masculine or feminine, shouldn’t the church have its act together?
In order to rightly display gender, roles, and distinction to the world, we must look to the Scriptures and rediscover what God has said regarding them. Ephesians 5:15 challenges Christians to “walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.” Living circumspectly as a wise person means behaving accurately in the light of God’s revealed will (verses 16 & 17 bear this out). Therefore, knowing God’s mind on identity, roles, and distinction, will lead us to more accurately display what God has made us to be both in the church and to the world.
In the following series of articles, we will look to the Bible and answer the question of identity to embrace what God made us to be. We will explore roles so we can act what God made us to be. And finally, we will tackle the subject of distinction and displaying what God made us to be. These answers from God’s Word can help us to both show and tell to the world God’s intent for His Creation.
[1] “Are these the most PC parents in the world? The couple raising a 'genderless baby'... to protect his (or her) right to choice,” by Daily Mail Reporter, May 24, 2011 (accessed at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389593/Kathy-Witterick-David-Stocker-raising-genderless-baby.html).