Before the United States congress is the Equality Act. When the bill which supports LGBTQ rights first came to congress, Speaker Nancy Pelosi in promotion of the bill said, “this is not about tolerance…tolerance is” an offensive word. The reality is when it comes to LGBTQ lifestyles all must conform, and all must celebrate sexual choices and sexual identities.
There is not much to be done politically about the bill. I will voice my disapproval to Senator Amy Klobuchar (DFL – MN) and to Senator Tina Smith (DFL – MN), but my voice will not count for much. My senators will vote with their fellow democrats in the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass the legislation. When passed by the Senate, President Biden is certain to sign the bill into law. I wrote previously, and I say again without apology, Wednesday, January 20, 2021, the day Mr. Biden became the 46th president of these United States, is a date, I fear, which will live in infamy.
For whatever its intentions and its contents, the Equality Act likely will progress like Title IX before it. Future politicians and lawyers will use the Equality Act to push agendas not considered in the present legislation. This is how laws work in the United States. It is easier to make an old law say something it didn’t than to get a new law passed.
Supporters cannot wait to implement the Equality Act in local schools. Elinor Aspegren writes in USA Today, “The Equality Act, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, is moving to the Senate after being passed by the House of Representatives – and it could affect what's taught in classrooms.”
Quoting, Sophia Arredondo, director of Education and Youth Programs at the LGBTQ+ education advocacy group GLSEN, Ms. Aspegren writes, “It signals to educators who are not part of our community that they, too, can hopefully implement language, representation and curriculum that is LGBTQ inclusive.”
A recent Gallup poll concluded LGBTQ identification has been increasing over time. Younger generations are far more likely to consider themselves to be something other than heterosexual, including 16% of Gen Z adults, 18 to 23-year-olds born between 1997-2002. The pollsters write, “With younger generations far more likely than older generations to consider themselves LGBT, that growth should continue.”
Does that concern you? I think it should, especially if you have children in any educational institution elementary school to college that does not openly embrace a biblical worldview. What is the biblical worldview on gender identity and sexuality? Against the growing consensus in Western Culture, God’s Word condemns all expressions of sexuality outside of covenanted marriage between one man and one woman, upholds the beauty of two genders, and offers God’s grace to escape God’s coming wrath for those who rebel against God in sexuality and gender.
This is a musing and not a treatise, so here some thoughts as you consider how you will respond to the growing push to embrace LGBTQ ideology in our schools, at your workplace, in your family, and in our community.
Know the Scriptures. God’s revelation is the greatest resource we possess to combat any rebellious worldview. In the approaching days, Christians do well to know the content and meaning of Genesis 1-3; Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, and Matthew 19. The Scriptures will guard your mind against the lies of Satan and will equip you with tools to support those close to you.
Celebrate what God celebrates and condemn what God condemns. God celebrates masculinity and God celebrates femininity. God celebrates one man and one woman marriage. God celebrates the intimacy and oneness in his design for marriage. Work to make your marriage the beauty that God designed. Protect your marriage from little foxes that would destroy it and give cause for condemnation, “How can you criticize whom I choose to love when your so called ‘God approves’ love is a mess?”
Answer your children’s questions. I was in middle school when I asked him. My dad came home from a long day at work and sat down on the couch, looking for a moment of relaxation. Earlier in the day at my Christian school, I heard a word I didn’t know. Some of the guys were talking about it. I acted like I knew its meaning, but I was clueless. When my dad got home, I assaulted the poor man without any warning, “Dad, what is @L$%*!?” He nearly died. When he collected himself, he gave me a three-word-answer. By his brevity and tone and his immediate departure to another room in the house, I learned that conversations about sex, my body, and girls were off limits. I never again asked him any question on those subjects. In his defense, he didn’t see the uppercut coming, and I am sure his dad never had a similar conversation with him. God has uniquely positioned you to be the parent of your children. Part of your task is to answer their questions about the world in which we live, both its beauty and its ugliness. You do well to answer them and not send them to Instagram or TikTok for answers.
Love sinners to Jesus. Luke 7:36-39 records a social event where a woman of the city whose sexual exploits were known to all interacted with Jesus. A group of Pharisees also attended the dinner. When they saw Jesus and the women interacting, they said, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
The Pharisee’s response tells us all and has become the MO for many Christians. Over and again, we see Jesus move toward the sexually sinful, like the woman in Luke 7 and like the woman at the well in John 4. It is the response of the Pharisee that says, “Keep your distance.”
Instead of keeping distance, love sinners toward Jesus. Would you welcome at your table a person who is biologically male but identifies as female for the purpose of talking to them about Jesus? Would you choose to befriend a coworker whose LGBTQ lifestyle makes you uncomfortable for the purpose of talking to them about Jesus? I suspect the church will need to be prepared in the next decade or two to aid those who received surgical treatments or years of hormonal treatment for the purpose of gender change. Will we help them? Would you repent of any sinful language you use about LGBTQ people? Would you repent of any acceptance of LGBTQ lifestyle because your acceptance does not move sinners toward Jesus? Would you show sympathy and compassion to someone in our church struggling with same sex attraction, with gender identity, or any other sinfully sexual expression? Will you move toward sinners with the hope of the gospel and the love of Jesus?
Here we are. God created us to live in the days in which we live. None of us fought in World War I. None of us experienced the Black Plague. None of us were exiled to Babylon. We live here and now in this time. Like the faithful brothers and sisters before us, we will rely on God’s Word delivered to us by God’s Spirit to live as faithful followers of God’s Son.
May we know God’s grace. >
As always, I welcome your comments and any suggestions you might have for an upcoming Lunchtime Musing.
To read past Lunchtime Musings, follow me at medium.com/@mikeverway
Mike VerWay
Pastor for Preaching & Vision