Transgendered? No U-Turn for LaVern

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You’ve Got to Stand! - by Chris Moran

My friend and fellow preacher Chris Moran has posted …

“Eleven Stances Worth Taking”

There is an old country music song that was released in the early 90’s recorded by Aaron Tippin. The title of the song is “You’ve Got to Stand For Something.” Although this song was never one of my favorites, I always liked and appreciated the message it sent. In the chorus, Tippin sings, “You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything. You've got to be your own man, not a puppet on a string. Never compromise what's right and uphold your family name. You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.”

In the times in which we now live, this message still holds true. But the problem we are facing is that many people are standing for the wrong things: abortion, homosexuality, racism, hatred, self-indulgence, and a host of other immoral and wicked atrocities that are in contradiction of the Word and Will of God.

If we are going to take a stand, may I suggest 11 stances that are worth taking? These 11 are “nothing new under the sun,” but perhaps worth reviewing and remembering.

• Stand Up For Those Too Weak To Stand Themselves (James 1:27).

• Stand For Right When Others Stand For Wrong (Romans 12:2).

• Stand In The Gap To Defend The Lord’s Church (Ezekiel 22:30).

• Stand Watch Over Someone Who Hurts (Job 2:11-13).

• Stand Between Enemies To Bring Peace (Matthew 5:9).

• Stand With Christ When Christ Is Being Attacked (Hebrews 13:13).

• Stand In To Serve Those Less Fortunate Than You (Matthew 20:28).

• Stand In For Christ To Seek And Save The Lost (Luke 19:10).

• Stand In Your Convictions When It Costs Something To Do (Acts 5:29).

• Stand In Heaven After A Life Well-Lived (Matthew 25:34-40).

• Stand In The Traditions Which You Were Taught, Whether By Word Or Epistle (2 Thessalonians 2:15).

~Chris

Civility

Johnny was a Boy Scout, and he was required to do a good deed every day. He was also expected to be home every afternoon by 4:00. One day it got to be 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00. Finally at 6:30 Johnny walked in the door. Parents upset. “What took you so long?” “I was helping a little old lady cross the street.” “2-1/2 hours late?”  “She didn’t want to go!”

Our culture is civilized, right? To “civilize” is to bring a place or people to a stage of social, cultural, and moral development that is more advanced. It is to enlighten, improve, refine, and cultivate. “Civility” refers to courtesy, manners, and politeness in behavior and speech. So, what happened to it? Why is our world so crude and rude? And what can we do about it?

What is Civility?

To “civilize” is to bring a place or people to a more advanced stage of social, cultural, and moral development. It is to enlighten, improve, refine, and cultivate. “Civility” refers to courtesy, manners, and politeness in behavior and speech.

Civil – from French and Latin for “citizen.”

Civics – study of citizens’ rights and duties.

Civil War – sounds like an oxymoron! It's a war between civilians.

civilize (v.) c. 1600, “to bring out of barbarism, introduce order and civil organization among, refine and enlighten,” from French civiliser, verb from Old French civil (adj.), from Latin civilis ”relating to a citizen, relating to public life, befitting a citizen; popular, affable, courteous,” alternative adjectival derivative of civis ”townsman” (see city). Intransitive meaning “become civilized” is from 1868. 

Last week – Syracuse University permanently expelled the Theta Tau fraternity after footage emerged earlier this week of its members participating in a racist, sexist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic skit, Chancellor Kent Syverud said.

The Daily Orange, an independent student newspaper, obtained and posted a video in which a fraternity member makes another one swear to hold onto hatred for African-Americans, Hispanics and Jews, using racial slurs for those groups. Later, another student, using a derogatory word for Jews, makes a veiled reference to gas chambers in Nazi Germany. In the video the students also exposed themselves to each other and posed in immoral positions.

What is Theta Tau, you ask? From their website, thetatau.org: “Theta Tau is the nation’s foremost Fraternity for Engineers! ... Our mission is to develop ENGINEERING LEADERS for Service, Profession, and Brotherhood. The fellowship, academic support and personal growth our Brothers find in Theta Tau make all the difference in their personal and professional success.”

Bad enough that such events occur. Even worse that they are planned, promoted, and taught. And enjoyed.

The secular world’s answer? Answer? Expose them! Censor them! Expel them! Monitor all fraternities! Threaten them! Make them behave!

Make more laws! Outlaw more words! Put everyone in diversity classes, anger management classes, and tolerance classes!

The secular world treats the symptoms but fails to address the cause of such conduct.

Our US President, with his famous tweets, repeatedly uses terms and phrases that many think lack civility. As one of the more tame examples, he recently used the word “slimeball” to refer to the former head of a federal agency. The slurs and insults go back and forth between the highest officials in our land, not two different from the behavior of rude boys in a schoolyard.

What Difference Does Civility Make?

Contrast: Judges vs. Ruth (same era)

Judges: Chaos Without a King

Ruth: Life Under God’s Rule

Ru 2:4 … Boaz said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they: “The LORD bless you.”

Ru 2:8-10 Then Boaz said to Ruth …

Note this article, not even based specifically on biblical teaching, about the difference that civility makes in the workplace.

Why Civility Matters in the First Place - Sharone Bar-David

http://www.sharonebardavid.com/2015/02/civility-matters-first-place/

Consider the game of curling, where a stone has to make its way safely into a target area over a sheet of smooth ice. Two team members sweep the ice to allow the stone to move smoothly to its destination.

Civility is the smooth ice that enables people to perform at their best, leading to best results for the team, the organization, and those who it serves. (If you’re a manager, think of yourself as the sweeper whose job it is to ensure the path is clear.)

Here are some of the ways—a partial list—that civility supports organizational and team success:

1.   Performance. People who are treated with respect are able to focus. Their mind is not bogged down by worry, their brain is not flooded with memory-impeding stress hormones, and their time is not spent on second-guessing whether or not the uncivil person intended to belittle or dismiss them. With focus, they perform at their best.

2.   Trust and teamwork. Respectful relationships yield trust, and trust in return makes people support each other, collaborate, hold themselves and one another accountable, be flexible, lend a helping hand, deal effectively with interpersonal problems, and work together toward shared goals.

3.   Customer service. The focus, trust and teamwork that civility brings about result in effective, smooth and cheerful service.

4.   Engagement and retention. Employees who feel that the organization treats them with respect and that its managers are actively ensuring that everyone is dealt with in a civil manner are highly invested in the success of the enterprise. They are less likely to depart prematurely.

5.   Innovation. Innovation relies on people’s sense of safety and trust. A civil work environment creates a milieu where new (and possibly unconventional) ideas can be shared and explored without fear.

6.   Health and safety. A civil work environment is a psychologically safe one. In a world of ever-growing rates of mental health illness on the job, a civil environment prevents the triggering or exacerbation of mental health problems (and the associated high levels of absenteeism and benefits costs). Furthermore, focused and calm employees are much less likely to engage in hazardous behaviour or be involved in workplace accidents.

The advantages of upholding a civil work environment are almost common sense. And yet—have you noticed?—incivility continues to exist uninterrupted in most organizations.

What Happened to Civility?

2 Ti 3:1 (ESV) … in the last days … times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God …

What are the Principles of Civility?

It begins with God. Mk 12:28ff; Jas 3:9-12

It is patient, kind, not arrogant or rude. 1 Co 13

It builds up; it does not tear down. Eph 4:29ff

It respects others’ hearts and space.

It chooses to rise above. Mt 5:38-48

It begins in the home. Eph 5:22-6:4

It must prevail in the church. Gal 5:13-26

It says “Please,” “Yes, sir,” and “Thank you.”

It is evident – or not! – on social media, TV, etc.

It can transform all who practice / receive it.

It can impact the world and workplace. Col 3:23

It can open the door for the gospel. Col 4:2-6

How Can We Maintain Civility?

2 Ti 3:10 (ESV) You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me.

Civility – Choose it! Teach it! Live it!

Let Me be a Little Kinder, Less of Me

Songwriters: Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell, Roger Miller, Statler Brothers, Oak Ridge Boys

Let me be a little kinder
Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those about me
Let me praise a little more

Let me be when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery
Think a little more of others
And a little less of me

Let me be a little braver
When temptation bids me waver
Let me strive a little harder
To be all that I should be

Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker
Let me think more of my neighbor
And a little less of me

Let me be when I am weary
Just a little bit more cheery
Let me serve a little better
Those that I am strivin’ for

Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker
Think a little more of others
And a little less of me

Try a Little Kindness - Tim Surrett

Songwriters: Bobby Austin / Curt Sapaugh

If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he’s sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say, you’re going the wrong way

You got to try a little kindness
Yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

Don’t walk around the down and out
Lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day
Will help someone along their way

You got to try a little kindness
Yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

You got to try a little kindness
Yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

Possible hymns:

Angry Words

Prince of Peace, Control My Will

O To Be Like Thee

Let the Beauty of Jesus Be Seen in Me

I Want to Be More Like Jesus

Gender Surrender?

Related post: Transgendered? No U-Turn for LaVern
http://coryhcollins.blogspot.com/2016/05/transgendered-no-u-turn-for-lavern.html

Does anyone remember the old TV sitcom, “Father Knows Best?” It reflected a time in which our culture respected the role of the father as the leader of the home, protecting and caring for each member, and resolving issues – all in just 30 minutes per episode!

How rapidly and dangerously has our society moved from that view. Today it seems that, when it comes to gender, anything goes.

It’s vital that we address cultural issues, and our culture is changing fast.

For example, Toys R Us, once one of the nation’s largest and oldest toy retailers, is closing all 800 of its stores. Do we all understand why?

From BreakPoint:

In its annual filing, the company pointed to online competition like Amazon, as well as traditional retailers like Walmart and Target, as the major reasons for its bankruptcy. But Toys R Us (which also runs Babies R Us) cited another and much more troubling reason for its collapse: sagging birth rates.

“Most of our end-customers are newborns and children,” writes the toy chain’s management. “Our revenue [is] dependent on the birthrates in countries where we operate. In recent years, many countries’ birthrates have dropped or stagnated as their population ages.”

It’s so obvious, most people don’t even consider it. But a toy chain’s business model is dependent on, well, children. One of the reasons toy retailers are dying is because their base of small customers has become…well…too small.

The U.S. fertility rate is now at an all-time low. Some experts estimate it could be nearing 1.77 children per woman, which is well below what’s known as the “replacement rate”—or that number of babies each couple must have on average in order to keep the population from shrinking. Needs to be 2.11.

Little wonder, since according to a recent Pew Research poll, young Americans today are less likely to be married than any prior generation. In 1965, nearly 80 percent of those between 21 and 36 years old were married. Today, just 37 percent of Millennials that same age are married.

As a result, the non-immigrant population isn’t just shrinking. It’s also graying—and fast. The U.S. Census Bureau predicts that by 2035, senior citizens will outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history.

One of the factors affecting marriage and childbearing – gender confusion.

“Men are like waffles. Woman are like spaghetti.”

In the beginning God made “man” – male and female – in His image. He created not only the biological differences between the two, but also the psychological differences. He defined specific roles for men and women, in the family and in the church. These roles do not compete with each other; they complete each other. Regarding gender, we must not surrender!

God Made Us Different!

Biologically, psychologically, emotionally.

Brains, temperament, problem-solving, strengths.

Each needs what only the other can give.

Complementary – to complete, not compete.

Rooted in creation and the Fall. Gen 1-3

Reflected in marriage. Eph 5:22-33

Reaffirmed in the church. 1 Tim 2-3

Equal in Value, Different in Role

Similar to all of life – work, school, traffic, sports, politics, travel, construction, farming.

Every person’s role is limited.

Every person’s role is needed.

Every person’s role is dependent.

Every person’s role is subject.

Christ / Son, God / Father: 1 Co 11:3; 15:25-28.

Gender: Not a Social Construct!

If anything goes in marriage, then why not …?

Gender is inborn, not created by society.

Gender is given by God, not chosen by me.

A person “trapped in a fe/male body” is fe/male!

And that person is not trapped, but blessed!

Scripture, science, society, history, and nature all converge and have always agreed. Until recently.

Transgender Affirmation Therapy

New $5.7 million study just commissioned by the National Institutes of Health.

Will be used to support chemically and surgically altering the bodies of children.

The conclusion has already been reached.

This study is to search for a basis for it.

BreakPoint: Sacrificing Children to Trans Ideology

Free Speech?

University campuses; Title IX funding control.

Some want to remove these “dangerous” words: man, woman, male, female, he, she, lady, etc.

Former Google engineer James Damore was fired. His memo: “Men and women are different.”

CEO Sundar Pichai called it “offensive and not OK.” He “advanced harmful gender stereotypes.”

The Diversity Dilemma

“Let’s acknowledge and promote diversity.”

“Let’s fire and silence people that discuss it.”

Back to Biblical Basics

Mt 19:4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’”?

We affirm, honor, and celebrate God’s creation!

Possible hymns:

I Sing the Mighty Power of God

All Creatures Great and Small

All Things Praise Thee

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

This is My Father’s World

All Creatures of Our God and King

“Gone with the Wind” – More than Just a Movie

It was sensational. It was controversial. It was historic. In 1939 the film “Gone with the Wind” crossed a major line in the movie industry, provoking excitement and criticism. The producers also drew huge profits by doing so, as they intended. Their shocking move was immensely successful, at least from an economic point of view.

What was it? Simply this. The movie included the word “damn,” in the very famous last line. Rhett said to Scarlett, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a _____.”

Prior to the film's release, censors objected to the use of the word in the film. The word had been prohibited by the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. Yes, prohibited! Why? Well, to those with traditional values and religious convictions, to “damn” a person was to wish that person condemned to hell. That is how the word originated. People who feared God, and believed in the reality of hell, did not use the word in polite speech. They would shudder if they heard someone else say it.

But the risk paid off. True, the producers had ridiculed current social values and offended the consciences of many. But they likely anticipated a huge payoff, and they got it. They may have figured that the initial criticism would die down, and it did. Most people would pay to see the film anyway. After all, any customers who hesitated would hear how outstanding the film was as a whole. They would justify seeing the movie – overlooking what they found offensive – and they would buy their tickets. After all, they might ask, was it really that big of a deal after all?

The more I have thought about the explosive step that those producers took, the more I have realized what is going on in our declining culture.

In my years I have seen this "Wind" strategy used effectively many times. The movie industry, a major national retail chain, or another commercial interest decides to add something questionable, objectionable, or even outright immoral. Then these events seem to follow in order:

The instigator (movie company, merchant, etc.) proudly goes public, advertising its bold new move.

Initially, many with conservative values publicly object. They may refuse to support the agenda with their money, because it genuinely violates their consciences. They are also concerned about the potential damage to society that may result.

Then those who accept or embrace the change, or see it as rather harmless, accuse the conscientious conservatives of being self-righteous or of making much ado about nothing. “They are so strict and so judgmental!”

The instigator enjoys the publicity and the profits that it has generated.

The boundary line of acceptable practice moves farther left once more.

Those who have not moved with the shifting sand are then ridiculed and marginalized as bigots or fanatics. They are treated as a tiny majority and called the “religious right;” they are defined as being off-center, on the fringe. It is they, not the instigators of the new morality, who are the extremists. How dare they say that people should not support such changes with their money or their influence? How picky and mean can people be?

Those in search of bigger profits and more customers then look for the next controversial move that they can make to repeat the cycle on a grander scale. It may be disturbing. It may hurt marriages, families, children, and friends. But it will make money for sure. And, hey, people will get over it and even reward it.

In my generation I have seen this pattern used effectively to move many boundaries. These include the growing acceptance of premarital sexual relations, the promotion of adultery, the breakup of the traditional family, the use of rude, crude, disrespectful language, the open description of private body parts and functions, the weakening role of the male in the American family, social and gender engineering, abortion, and more. I have seen high standards lowered and seemingly eliminated. I have seen movie ratings like "PG-13" slide all over the place.

I fear that I will see the "Wind" pattern again, and again, and again. I am even more concerned for the generations that follow me.

The title itself, “Gone with the Wind,” was intended to describe a culture that was becoming a thing of the past. The life that Rhett and Scarlett had known would exist no longer. Ironically enough, we must ask ourselves in this post-Christian era, “Will the God-fearing, Bible-believing, people-loving culture that we have known become … ‘gone with the wind?’”

I am alarmed. I am ashamed. How have people with solid convictions – how have I myself – allowed such intrusions to occur? Where are the defensive linemen, who will plant ourselves and say, “Enough! You are not taking one more inch of this field!”

Join me in affirming what Scripture says:

Rom 1:28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

"Gone with the Wind." It really is more than just a movie. It's a movement.