Toilets, Target, and Christians

I have young children. I won’t disclose their ages, but suffice it to say they are all under the age of 10. I have a mixture of sexes too. When my daughter came home my oldest was very young. A few months later he was watching me change his sister’s diaper and asked me where her…um…how do I put this… her “plumbing” was. Even at the age of 3 he instinctively knew there was a difference between him and his sister. He knew there was a difference between a boy and a girl. His knowledge was more than purely observational. He knew that his sister was a girl and as such was inherently difference than he was. Psychologists would argue that such knowledge is contextual and societally learned, but I beg to differ. I didn’t have to teach my son that as a boy he is different from his sister; he knew this instinctively. It’s a God-given gender identity that I believe all human beings instinctively share.

It’s been a few years since I was in high school; 27 to be exact. I was a good student, but no one ever accused me of having an aptitude for things like math or chemistry. Biology, on the other hand, came easy to me. I remember the chapters on reproduction and sexual identity pretty well. Sure, a lot of the technical jargon has slipped my now mid-40-something-ish brain, but the basics stuck. It’s chromosomal. Put simply: XX = female while XY = male. Genetics, man, genetics. I’m no geneticist and have no way of doing genetic testing on anyone. So how do we know who’s who? God made it pretty simple. He boiled it down to plumbing. If you’re born with plumbing on the outside, you’re a boy and if not, then you’re a girl. God really made gender identity very simple. In His sovereign prerogative, God determined our genders.

The Bible makes it undeniably clear that God is the one who determines gender identity. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Ps. 139:13-16 NIV).  This classic song of worship to God written by King David is packed with undeniable Divine truth. It reminds us that our very innermost parts originated with God. The Hebrew word used for “inmost being” is the wordכִּלְיָה (cil’yah) and refers to our internal organs or innermost being/psyche. In context, David might be referring to man’s most tender and secretive emotions and thoughts, but the physical aspect cannot be ignored. The development of children in the womb is looked upon throughout Israelite wisdom literature as a great mystery. That the physical aspect is in play is furthered by the use of the Hebrew verb סָכַךְ (sacak), which means “to interweave, weave together.” Its synonym is used the same way in Job 10:11 where Job mentions God weaving him together with bones and sinew. Verse 15 mentions עֹצֶם (‘otsem), “bones, skeletal system” and the סֵתֶר (seter) “secret place,” which is a contextual reference to the womb; giving further credence to the fact that David was primarily referring to God’s forming of our physical bodies. This passage, in coordination with the testimony of the rest of the Bible, makes clear that God sovereignly determines who we are going to be and what we are going to look like from before conception. The Apostle John sums it up nicely when he records the worship around Jesus’ throne, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Rev. 4:11 NIV). God determines gender identity, not us.

Any attempt to redefine what the Creator has designed is a slap in His face. It is nothing short of a declaration of faithlessness and disrespect for the Creator God. When answering Job’s accusations (Job 39-40), God asks him, “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?” (Job 40:2 NIV) God asked Job this question on the heels of declaring his creative prerogative and glory. The answer is simple. No one has the right to correct God. When those who choose to participate in the LGBTQ lifestyle decide to self-identify as a gender other than that sovereignly determined by their Creator, they are declaring that God made a mistake and that they, the creature, must correct Him. Such a declaration is dangerous ground.

There is another Bible verse that I believe is quite necessary in our national climate. “You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your command” (Ps. 119:73 NLT). David here recognizes the Creator-creature distinction – that God is the Creator and as such holds every sovereign right and prerogative over us - and then prays that God would give him the good sense to obey what the Creator has said. This is where our nation is missing it. We fail to recognize the Divine sovereignty and authority of the One True God and we don’t have sense enough to listen to what He has told us.

I have been saddened at the recent turn of events in our nation and the slippery slope we’ve been flying down at break-neck speed for some time now. I firmly believe we who align ourselves with Jesus Christ should be charting the course in truth, not shouting at the river.

That said, how should Christians respond to the bathroom situation at places like Target? Should we boycott Target and any other public merchant who takes the same stand Target did? Boycott if you want. There’s no harm in it. It certainly expresses how you feel about the situation. Many people are boycotting Target. The American Family Association (AFA) is encouraging those who hold to conservative, traditional values to boycott Target. The Target issue is just latest in a long litany of companies the AFA says should be boycotted. The AFA (American Family Association) has an entire list of companies which they encourage us to boycott because of the companies’ failure to support traditional American values and morals: Disney and all of its subsidiaries, Kraft foods and all of its subsidiaries, Sam’s Club and Walmart, Kodak, Citigroup, American Airlines, PepsiCo and its subsidiaries, Allstate Insurance, Coca-Cola and its subsidiaries, and the Ford Motor Company to name a few that you can find on their website. By the end of their fiscal year 2014 Target boasted over $72 million dollars in net profits for that year alone. If each of those who signed the AFA petition are already regular Target shoppers who spend $75 or more per year at Target, and if each of them truly abides by their agreement, then Target will feel the pinch. In reality, not a single one of these boycotts against a secular company by the AFA has worked in the last 35+ years.

Let me say again that if a Christian wants to boycott a company because of the company’s support or involvement in the LGBTQ agenda, then go ahead. But I encourage you to be consistent. I am dismayed at Evangelical leaders and pastors who jump on the boycott bandwagon for one company because of the latest issue to become popular in the media, but say nothing about these other companies. Are we not in danger of hypocrisy?

I think we need a bit of a reality check in the Evangelical world. Before I go any further, let me say that I am not a pessimist, nor do I think we need to sink our heads in the sand like proverbial ostriches. I do think we need to let Scripture shape our perceptions of society and drive us to see the real need in our nation.

Paul admonished Timothy with regard to the devolution of Roman society in his day in 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5. Roman morality was far more wretched than America’s is at present. With that social environment in mind, Paul begins by reminding Timothy of his manner of life and ministry and the persecutions he suffered for the truth of the faith. [Remember, Paul was sitting in the squalor of the Mamertine Prison in Rome; waiting to be executed when he wrote this letter.] Then, in verses 12-13 Paul says, “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” How would you like Paul to be your encourager? Essentially, Paul said, “Timothy, I have good news and bad news. Good news is, if you live for Jesus like you ought, you’re going to suffer for it. Bad news is, your culture’s going to get worse and there’s nothing you can do about it.” Paul was reminding Timothy that living in a godly manner within a society that is morally crumbling will bring persecution to those who live as believers ought to live. He also says that the godless segments of society will increase and prosper while we who believe suffer and are marginalized. Sound familiar? Is this not what’s happening in America today? Conservative Evangelicals are marginalized for our beliefs and values while those who don’t know God are exalted. Let me return to my earlier question. What do we do about it?

The rest of the context delineates one clear admonition.

1.      3:14-15 – “continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

2.      4:2 – “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-- with great patience and careful instruction.”

3.      4:5 – “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.”

In short, Paul told Timothy that in the midst of a degenerate and delusional society we who believe are to, above all things, stay on mission. Every believer’s mission is simple. It’s reaching those in our relational worlds with the gospel of Jesus Christ so that their worlds will be radically and eternally changed by the power of the one true gospel.

You see, the answer to the bathroom issue, like every other immoral societal issue, is ultimately a spiritual issue. As Americans, we have the right to make our opinions and beliefs known to those in power, and we should not shirk that responsibility. We have the right to spend our money wherever we choose and to deny any merchant our business. The other side of the coin is one too many Christians don’t like. These companies are secular companies. Target, for example, does not and has never purported itself to be a Christian company with Christian values. Why, then, do Christians presume that Target should value what we value? Secular companies with unbelieving people at their helms will make decisions consistent with their unbelief. Lost people (companies, governments, etc.) do what lost people do. They make decisions and value judgments based on their lost, unregenerate natures, and we who know Jesus should expect no more of them. The only true hope for change in America is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Am I saying that we ought to abandon America to the Devil? No. I’m saying that we who believe need to recognize that America, like every other nation on earth, always has belonged to the Devil. This world and its system, for the present time, belongs to Satan. The Bible calls him “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Eph. 2:2) and “the prince of this world” (John 14:30). If this world’s system and its authorities were not his, then why would he tempt Jesus by offering them to Him (Matt. 4:8-9)? Jesus never contented that Satan was wrong in his assertion that he ruled this world.

We who believe should realize that we are on the front lines of the battle for men’s eternal souls. We should refuse to be distracted off-mission and realize that true societal change comes as people respond in repentance and faith to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need to stand for the truth, preservation of biblical values, and the safety of our society. Can we do it without becoming a roadblock to our mission – the Great Commission? Too many Christians get distracted by political agendas; believing that the right person in the White House, passing the right legislation, confirming the right Justice, or boycotting the evilest companies will usher in lasting change in America. When was the last time we talked to our neighbors, family members, co-workers, or anyone else about the only true hope this world has? When was the last time we invested ourselves and our resources into eternal things?

I believe we can, and should, stand and fight against what God condemns and for what God exalts. But we cannot let the fight to preserve an ever-devolving societal morality distract us from our mission.