SEX, n. [L. sexus; from L. seco, to divide.] 1. The distinction between male and female; or the property or character by which an animal is male or female. The male sex is usually characterized by muscular strength, boldness and firmness. The female sex is characterized by softness, sensibility and modesty (Webster 1828).
I think it was eighth grade when I first heard my Health teacher announce "We are going to be teaching Sex Ed this next semester." She actually warned us that some might be offended. She said if we wanted to opt out of that portion of the class we would need a permission form signed by our parents, and then we would be given another project to work on. Let's be honest! We all pretty much knew how things worked by that stage of our lives. Sure, we all used different names for the reproductive parts, but we were pretty sure we knew what to do in order for the human race to survive.
I really felt uncomfortable with the idea of learning this subject from a female teacher with my female peers in the class; but if I opted out I would be the only one who did, and I would be the laughing stock of the whole class! So, I convinced my parents that it wouldn't be a big deal and that I was old enough to handle such a class with maturity and dignity... Yeah right!
The class was divided (interesting, the word "sex" comes from the Latin word for "divide"); girls sat on one side of the room and boys sat on the other (facing each other...many girls wearing short skirts...you can guess what the boys did the whole time...). You know, now that I think of it, we didn't have one person in the class who was confused as to which side of the room to sit on. There was this one guy who wore nail polish and walked around campus in a dress, but everyone knew by the way he carried himself that he just liked the attention and did it to shock people. And as far as I know every boy in that class liked girls, and every girl liked boys (just maybe not the ones in our class).
Fast forward twenty some years. I'm a youth pastor in a small rural town. I have had the opportunity to minister to many young people who are growing up under the tutelage of our government-run, public education. It remains to be a shock to me that so many, even those professing to believe in God and the Bible, support the idea of homosexual "unions" (I prefer to call it the Biblical word, "sodomy") and transgender expressions (which the Bible calls "abomination" and "confusion").
Besides what the Bible says (which makes no acceptance of sodomy or of transgender expressions and strongly forbids and pronounces harsh judgment against both), the lack of common sense among young people today concerning the very nature and meaning of "sex" just blows my mind. I watch as our government encourages the act of sodomy and legalizes their marital rights. I watch as movie stars and professional athletes are praised and hailed as "heros" for coming out publically and admitting that they are sodomites or confused about their gender. I can't help but think I'm living in the Twilight Zone or something! I've awaken to a nation of perverts and the mentally insane. These people need treatment, not acceptance! What exactly are they teaching in Sex Ed these days? Does anyone know what "sex" means? How about "reproduction?" In an age of scientific "enlightenment" and the evolutionary bandwagon, how can so-called "educated" professors be content giving a diploma to someone who is confused about which gender they are?
Now, if you are a Christian and you are saying "Hoorah! Preach it, Brother!" I hope you won't mind the next part. I say it with all the love I can muster up in my heart. Please think on it!
Why most ladies in our church wear dresses and why others should:
This is a very controversial subject in fundamental, Bible-believing churches...and I'm really not sure why. Our church certainly doesn't go around saying women who wear pants are wicked (many of our women wear pants regularly, and they are not treated any differently than those who wear dresses). I have rarely heard the topic even preached from our pulpit. The only time it has ever become a point of contention is when we have an activity or an outing and a dress code is given (something like "For this activity, we are asking girls not to wear pants and boys, no shorts"). That is how our pastor wants our church to represent ourselves out in public, and I'm perfectly fine with that. That is the basic dress code enforced in my home, most of the time, as well. We rarely make an issue about it, but quite honestly, I think there is very good reason to encourage some stricter dress standards among our brothers and sisters in Christ; and now, more than ever, it needs to be addressed.
I'll give you one good reason why we need to consider making a statement with the way we dress--GENDER CRISIS! Now, more than ever, we Christians need to make a statement regarding our God-given gender. He made you who you are--embrace it! I'm not saying embrace how you feel, I'm saying embrace who you are. I'm sick of hearing women make jokes and brag about being a "Tom boy" and men talking about their "feminine side." I hear Christian ladies say "I just don't like girly things! I like climbing trees and getting dirty." Well, you are more than welcome to climb a tree or get dirty, but you'd better find a way to be a lady about it. We need to shine our light today, the world is so dark!
I totally get that it is possible for a lady to look feminine in a pair of pants, but I also believe it is just about impossible for them to look masculine in a dress. At some point in our (fairly recent) history, women started cutting their hair shorter, wearing more masculine clothes (baseball caps, jeans, pant suits...even ties) and taking on more masculine roles, and I simply don't think it is godly (please realize I am not saying every baseball cap or pair of jeans, shorter hairstyle, etc. is inherently masculine...but I hope you get my point). I think it is time to set a standard and be a light for our world to see that God made mankind. "Male and female created He them." Let's not encourage the confusion!
I really felt uncomfortable with the idea of learning this subject from a female teacher with my female peers in the class; but if I opted out I would be the only one who did, and I would be the laughing stock of the whole class! So, I convinced my parents that it wouldn't be a big deal and that I was old enough to handle such a class with maturity and dignity... Yeah right!
The class was divided (interesting, the word "sex" comes from the Latin word for "divide"); girls sat on one side of the room and boys sat on the other (facing each other...many girls wearing short skirts...you can guess what the boys did the whole time...). You know, now that I think of it, we didn't have one person in the class who was confused as to which side of the room to sit on. There was this one guy who wore nail polish and walked around campus in a dress, but everyone knew by the way he carried himself that he just liked the attention and did it to shock people. And as far as I know every boy in that class liked girls, and every girl liked boys (just maybe not the ones in our class).
Fast forward twenty some years. I'm a youth pastor in a small rural town. I have had the opportunity to minister to many young people who are growing up under the tutelage of our government-run, public education. It remains to be a shock to me that so many, even those professing to believe in God and the Bible, support the idea of homosexual "unions" (I prefer to call it the Biblical word, "sodomy") and transgender expressions (which the Bible calls "abomination" and "confusion").
Besides what the Bible says (which makes no acceptance of sodomy or of transgender expressions and strongly forbids and pronounces harsh judgment against both), the lack of common sense among young people today concerning the very nature and meaning of "sex" just blows my mind. I watch as our government encourages the act of sodomy and legalizes their marital rights. I watch as movie stars and professional athletes are praised and hailed as "heros" for coming out publically and admitting that they are sodomites or confused about their gender. I can't help but think I'm living in the Twilight Zone or something! I've awaken to a nation of perverts and the mentally insane. These people need treatment, not acceptance! What exactly are they teaching in Sex Ed these days? Does anyone know what "sex" means? How about "reproduction?" In an age of scientific "enlightenment" and the evolutionary bandwagon, how can so-called "educated" professors be content giving a diploma to someone who is confused about which gender they are?
Now, if you are a Christian and you are saying "Hoorah! Preach it, Brother!" I hope you won't mind the next part. I say it with all the love I can muster up in my heart. Please think on it!
Why most ladies in our church wear dresses and why others should:
This is a very controversial subject in fundamental, Bible-believing churches...and I'm really not sure why. Our church certainly doesn't go around saying women who wear pants are wicked (many of our women wear pants regularly, and they are not treated any differently than those who wear dresses). I have rarely heard the topic even preached from our pulpit. The only time it has ever become a point of contention is when we have an activity or an outing and a dress code is given (something like "For this activity, we are asking girls not to wear pants and boys, no shorts"). That is how our pastor wants our church to represent ourselves out in public, and I'm perfectly fine with that. That is the basic dress code enforced in my home, most of the time, as well. We rarely make an issue about it, but quite honestly, I think there is very good reason to encourage some stricter dress standards among our brothers and sisters in Christ; and now, more than ever, it needs to be addressed.
I'll give you one good reason why we need to consider making a statement with the way we dress--GENDER CRISIS! Now, more than ever, we Christians need to make a statement regarding our God-given gender. He made you who you are--embrace it! I'm not saying embrace how you feel, I'm saying embrace who you are. I'm sick of hearing women make jokes and brag about being a "Tom boy" and men talking about their "feminine side." I hear Christian ladies say "I just don't like girly things! I like climbing trees and getting dirty." Well, you are more than welcome to climb a tree or get dirty, but you'd better find a way to be a lady about it. We need to shine our light today, the world is so dark!
I totally get that it is possible for a lady to look feminine in a pair of pants, but I also believe it is just about impossible for them to look masculine in a dress. At some point in our (fairly recent) history, women started cutting their hair shorter, wearing more masculine clothes (baseball caps, jeans, pant suits...even ties) and taking on more masculine roles, and I simply don't think it is godly (please realize I am not saying every baseball cap or pair of jeans, shorter hairstyle, etc. is inherently masculine...but I hope you get my point). I think it is time to set a standard and be a light for our world to see that God made mankind. "Male and female created He them." Let's not encourage the confusion!
