Sooner or later a child who hears a sermon on the Ethiopian eunuch will ask that dreaded question. “Mom, what is a eunuch?” Parents are in the same quandary when the word circumcision peaks their curiosity. There is no avoiding these sensitive topics when we teach them the Bible.
I have no special wisdom or secret way to answer these delicate matters, but as long as we use common sense we can’t go too wrong. Usually a general response will do until they are old enough to understand. Children can be inquisitive and persistent, but their attention span is short. Use that to your advantage. And, you are the parents. You have the authority to redirect their attention.
Children today are exposed to subjects far beyond delicate topics like those that the Bible discreetly mentions. Years ago boys and girls grew up without hearing words like transgender or homosexual. Now they hear these words at school, in libraries, and even in storybooks and cartoons. Now doctors operate on little boys to change them into little girls and vice-versa! It is stressful and disgusting enough for adults to hear about these abominations, but kids especially ought to be able to have fun and not be burdened and confused with this insanity.
It is beyond our comprehension that otherwise intelligent people can talk about this perversion like it is a good thing or a “right” that shouldn’t be denied. It is unconscionable that surgeries and medical treatments to change gender are viewed as compassionate procedures. How much more twisted can a society be? God will surely judge these people.
The hypocrisy of politicians and medical professionals defies our understanding. Where do they stand on the issue of a practice that has been found in Muslim cultures for centuries and still exists today—female mutilation at birth? A few years ago the medical establishment in Tennessee was outraged that this was occurring in some Muslim communities. They took action immediately to stop it. Now some of the same politicians and doctors who say this procedure is barbaric and illegal argue that changing children into the opposite sex through surgery is a humane thing. Of course they would be against this Muslim practice. They can’t use it to score political points or make millions off of insurance companies.
This situation would almost be unbearable if nothing like it had ever happened before and if the Bible said nothing about it. But perversion of all kinds is old. The Canaanite culture was full of abominations like homosexuality, incest, and bestiality (Lev. 18-20). That is why God told the Israelites to kill them and take their land. The Gentile world was overrun with perversion, including women who “exchanged the natural use for what is against nature” and men who left “the natural use of the woman” (Rom. 1:26-27). It is not easy or comfortable to address such things, but when perverse men try to push their way into our families and churches like they tried to break down the door of Lot’s house, we have no choice as God-fearing people but to stand our ground.
Kerry
West End church of Christ bulletin article for October 2, 2022
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