Wouldn’t it be a good idea to teach impressionable children that gender is just a construct of society and is really as fluid as they want it to be? In fact, we should teach them that there are many genders, perhaps a dozen, and let them pick and choose which they want to be.

That’s what one of the nation’s largest public school systems is preparing to teach its students via a new health and sexuality curriculum.

At a time when gender is suddenly a debatable topic – because apparently we’re not content with just boys and girls – this school system wants to further confuse the situation by affirming that people can be more than just male and female. No longer is your anatomy the definer of your gender identity, now you can choose; you can even choose to be something other than male and female! (Could someone please explain that one to me!?)

The Fairfax County Public School system is preparing to implement changes to their family life curriculum which includes teaching on gender identity that can only be described as disastrous and unscientific. A report describes the curriculum for middle school this way:

“Students will be provided definitions for sexual orientation terms heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality; and the gender identity term transgender. Emphasis will be placed on recognizing that everyone is experiencing changes and the role of respectful, inclusive language in promoting an environment free of bias and discrimination…Individual identity will also be described as having four parts – biological gender, gender identity (includes transgender), gender role, and sexual orientation (includes heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual).”

It seems that a person’s biological gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation are all exclusive and non-related. At least that’s what this school system is preparing to teach. Rather than seeing these as connected parts of an inherent and intricate part of a person’s being, they want to tell us that they are all exclusive.

I can’t help but wonder how a person is labeled if he is biologically a male, identifies as a woman, and says he/she is bi-sexual. How does one even begin to address the depth of confusion a person must be experiencing to speak those words?

The absolute frenzy to be inclusive and tolerant has caused our society to not just accept, but to praise people who are otherwise confused. In most circumstances when a person denies reality we say they are confused and in need of care to help them return to reality. But when it comes to sexual orientation or gender identity confusion is now being accepted and even praised.

Just look at the media circus surrounding people like Bradley manning and Bruce Jenner. By all accounts these are two very disturbed and confused individuals. But the media is making them out to be heroes for sharing their story with the public and allowing us to take part in their “journey of transition.” Every article or news story idolizes Bruce Jenner for his “bravery” and holds him up to the impressionable young minds that may otherwise question his sanity.

For the first time in our Western civilization the absolute of gender is being questioned. Are we really that far off from a time when newborn babies are not listed as male or female because we want to wait until they are old enough to decide for themselves what gender they desire to be?

We have long lamented the extended period of immaturity males seem to be experiencing due to video game and sports obsessions. Do we think it will be helpful to this societal problem to encourage gender confusion? Males are extending their adolescent years as long as possible and refusing to grow up and be men and our answer is to confuse them further by telling them they can be girls…or whatever gender they want.

The gender identity issue has reached a fever pitch in our culture, and is beginning to touch sacred realms as Christians and churches struggle to find the appropriate way to respond to confused people. Recently, blogger Matt Walsh debated with a fellow Christian over just how Christian leaders should be responding to this growing problem. Walsh said:

“What I do care [about] is that we all come to an understanding that, as Christians, we have to stop sacrificing the hard, difficult truth for the sake of seeming accepting, because I think that’s what’s driven us to the point we’re at in our culture, where we have a million babies being killed every year, the definition of marriage crumbling — we have now even the reality of man versus woman is no longer accepted. And I think we’ve gotten to that point in our culture, which is a very dangerous, evil place, because Christian leaders haven’t stood up and said, ‘This is wrong’ and just laid out the truth.”

This does not mean, and Walsh did not intend to imply that we should be unloving towards people with sin in their life. However, Walsh, I think, has a point. We have taken a soft approach to sin in order to appear loving and accepting of people. This approach has led to a society in which Christian assume the only way to be loving is to ignore sin. And yet, no such example can be found in Scripture of this approach. Jesus Himself never ignored sin and always called people to repent and stop sinning. When is the last time you heard of Christians doing that on a large scale?

It’s not hard to see that if something doesn’t change we will soon live in a society of very confused people. If kids are taught that gender and sexuality are fluid and can be changed at will there is little reason to doubt that emotional and mental immaturity and confusion will soon abound in people. Christians need to prepare now to respond to the situation in a way that both affirms the truth of Scripture that people are born either male or female and nothing else, and proclaims the glorious grace of the Gospel that Jesus forgives sin.

This is no small task. And I am not pretending to have the answers. I just know that as more children are taught the false view that gender and sexuality are fluid and changeable, more confusion will be created. As more confusion is created we will see a trail of broken people that are in desperate need of the hope that only comes with the grace and forgiveness of Jesus.

Never has the question “Who am I?” been more critical in our society. The answer “you are a man/woman created in the image of God” is the right answer, the needed answer.