By now, we’ve likely all seen the White House proclamation declaring March 31 “Transgender Visibility Day.” This year, the 31st fell on Easter Sunday, leaving many Christians – Republican and Democrat alike – aghast to hear our Catholic president and other leaders commandeer the holiest of Christian holidays in support of a tiny segment of the population.
Biden’s message was flagrant and indicative of a larger problem: The church has lost its voice.
Churches used to have the loudest voice in our society. Elected leaders didn’t dare mock people of faith, for they would show up in droves to vote. Now, many churches take a back seat on controversial social issues, refraining from discussing politics.
This passivity creates a vacuum, filling our culture with evil and causing it to rot. If the church doesn’t speak up and reverse this trend, we will soon see our freedom to worship taken from us – something we already experienced during COVID when the government shut down our churches.
Jesus declared that loving God and loving your neighbor were the two most important commandments. People who identify as transgender are our neighbors. We should absolutely love them. But loving someone also means telling them the truth, even when it is hard to hear.
The truth is that God created man and woman. A man cannot be a woman, no matter how many surgeries he has. Boys should not be allowed to go to the bathroom with girls. Men should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports. Our children should be protected from subjects they are too young to process.
These are things most of us agree with and find easy to hear. Yet, local governments around the country are protecting and encouraging the ability to do each of these things because the vocal minority has the loudest, most powerful voice – so powerful and influential that the president of the United States was unafraid to offend a nation of Christians to pander to this minority.
Political engagement is one way Christians can demonstrate love to our neighbors. We can’t claim to care about loving others and not engage in the process most responsible for shaping basic rights and freedoms. While our primary focus and loyalty as Christians should be to the kingdom of Heaven, we must not forget that we have dual citizenship and a responsibility to our earthly country. As Jeremiah 29:7 (ESV) says, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” Government serves a legitimate purpose in God’s plan, and each Christian should do his part to be an engaged citizen.
The pro-transgender proclamation made this Easter is a wake-up call to all Christians – Republican, Democrat, black, white, or brown – all of us. We must have the hard conversations. We must stick together, speak truth with love and be unafraid to take an unpopular position defending what we believe. Jesus and His disciples did not shy away from controversy when it was necessary. We must find our collective voice and use it before it’s too late.
Jessica Taylor lives in Shelby County and is the founder and operator of SimpleGrants.com.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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