d e f i n e d

A few months ago I did a post about identity. Not sure how many of you read it, but in case you missed it, click here to read it. Inspired by impromptu speeches my friends had made at a speech and debate tournament, I took the same prompt and wrote a speech of my own–talking about the question of identity; what is it that makes us who we are.

As all of you should know, we are in the last days of the month of June. And as many of you may also know, June is, by many peoples’ definition, pride month. Twenty-eight days ago, I opened the Instagram app on my dad’s phone to check for messages. And you know, the stories that show up at the top? Yeah, well, unsuspecting me clicked through it. The first one was a video of a drag queen at a pride parade.

Throughout this entire month, I’ve seen similar things. And today, second to last day of June, it’s only intensified. And before anyone starts getting fired up or whatever, just hear me out. I’m not accusing or pointing fingers or ranting my own opinions on it. Please. Just let me finish before jumping to conclusions.

Gay pride, while something that’s been recent in being celebrated and promoted, is not a recent thing. Homosexuality was present even in the ancient world. Many of you who are Christians or have a Bible may know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it may well have existed even before the Flood. Even if you don’t believe the Bible is real, there’s plenty of evidence in history of homosexuality in ancient cultures. Just look at ancient Greece for one. It was common in that culture. Same with ancient Rome. Granted, not everyone was accepting of it and many people thought it perverted or strange. And this was before Christianity was a thing. In the era following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, when Christianity spread all over the known world and beyond, homosexuality was something that was looked down upon and scorned.

Christianity has heavily influenced Western culture through the centuries until a few decades ago, when people started throwing it off and following their own wills and desires. This is evident in legalizing abortion. This is evident in the growing widespread use of drugs. This is evident in more and more teenagers in relationships that often end in unwanted pregnancies. And this is evident in the legalizing homosexual marriage and the promotion of the LGTBQ+ movement–and most recently, pride month.

Today’s culture is the first to celebrate and encourage people who choose their gender and/or sexual orientation as their identity. It’s what defines them, gives them a purpose, makes them different and “cool.” It’s what sets them apart from everyone else, even though they say it’s perfectly normal. It’s not just unbelievers. Many LGTBQ+ claim to be Christians. And many Christians struggle with same sex attraction.

You might be shocked.

But in all honesty, you shouldn’t.

Wanna know why?

Because it’s sin. As a result of Adam’s fall, sin has entered the world, corrupting, perverting, ruining everything. It’s not just about theft and murder and idolatry and dishonoring parents. It’s not just about disease, lying, death, decay, dishonoring the Sabbath. It’s not just about losing our relationship with God and living in a cursed world. It’s not just about struggling with pride and relationships and self-doubt. It’s not just about anxiety and cancer and depression. It’s also sexual sins, whether it’s lusting in your heart or actually committing the act. And sexual sin also includes homosexuality.

We’re all sinners. We inherit Adam’s guilt as soon as we’re conceived in the womb (See Psalm 51:5). And our own just accumulates over the course of our lives. James 2:10 says that “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” There is no sin that is greater than another or vice versa. It’s all sin. It makes no difference if you’ve never murdered anyone or taken God’s name in vain. You’re still guilty before God. And we’re still talking about the Mosaic law, not the more detailed, indepth version that Christ gave on the Sermon on the Mount. Truth is, we cannot keep God’s law. So, sexuality is no worse a sin than any of the other sins because it’s all–you guessed it–sin. It’s all wrong. And no matter how hard we may try, without Christ, we can’t help but sin.

In Christ, we have been saved by His blood and now have the ability to choose to do the right thing. And before anyone starts making excuses, Paul says in Romans 6:1, “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” Don’t abuse Christ’s gift.

But back to my main topic.

Homosexuality is as much a sin as lying about stealing those cookies. Homosexuality is a perversion of God’s original design. In the beginning, God created one man and one woman for companionship and the procreation of children to “fill the earth.” Not one man and two women or vice versa or one man and one man or one woman and one trans-man. You get the idea, right?

When we throw off the idea that there’s a God who created the world and continues to sustain it, when we toss away His original design and place ourselves at the center of the universe, any thing is possible. In a world without God, homosexuality and deciding we’re not supposed to be the gender we were born to be is perfectly normal. After all, it’s just an evolutionary accident I was born a girl, right? It’s completely understandable why people think it’s fine and completely usual to become trans or have a relationship with someone of the same gender when God no longer exists. We’re the masters of our own destiny and we can do what we like. Right?

Wrong.

That was never God’s original design. And since He does, in fact, exist, that presents a problem with the LGTBQ+ group.

Do I hate the LGTBQ+ people? No. Do I disagree with their lifestyle? Yes.

Our society today defines itself as being loving, tolerant, open, free. People define themselves by their gender or sexual orientation. But, as you can clearly see, the trans-gender movement proves that defining oneself by that is not very stable. If you can change something that’s been unchangable for so many thousands of years, what can you define yourself as?

Everyone wants to be someone or something that stands apart from the rest of the faceless crowd. That’s why people define themselves, whether it’s being a soccer star, an Irish dance world champion, a New York Times bestselling author, and world-class pianist, etc. And that’s why people are getting crazier and crazier with who they define themselves as, choosing to stake their identity on whether they’re a boy or a girl or what type of gender(s) they’re attracted to.

But if you’re going to define yourself by something that can change, well… I wish you all the best. It’s going to be depressing. Many people commit suicide because they feel so depressed and confused about who they are and who they’re meant to be.

The only thing that should define you is God. He made you the gender you are. It’s not something you should try and change. And honestly, changing it isn’t going to bring you happiness. If anything, it’s going to bring you despair.

When we define ourselves as a child of God, we can have peace in that we are who He wants us to be. We don’t have to worry that maybe we are supposed to be a guy or a girl and just–something happened that made us something else. We don’t have to worry about being called ‘strange’ for being heterosexual. We can have peace that we are God’s children and that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). We can have peace in Christ’s work on the cross that has given us the ability to have a relationship with our Creator who loves each and everyone of us. God is the one who defines us, not our gender or sexual orientation.

So what about Christians who have those struggles?

Again, it’s a temptation of sin just like everything else. Pray to God to help you with it and if you’ve asked for forgiveness, don’t let yourself be burdened by guilt. Christ died to free you from your sin and misery. Don’t make His sacrifice void by trying to take the weight yourself.

If you would like to read more on this, I highly recommend The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield and Is God Anti-Gay by Sam Allberry.

Thank you for reading this long post. 🙂

~ Cheyenne