BOY or GIRL: That Is The ?

I recently came upon a discussion about parenting, it was very interesting. There were several ladies discussing things, and it turned in a different direction before I could really digest and articulate my thoughts.

After digestion, here is what I came up with and how the conversation came to pass:

I had mentioned that I thought it was a shame that Brad and Angelina's beautiful little girl Shiloh, was being dressed like a boy. I know from reading articles that Shiloh apparently adores her brothers (which is so sweet) and wants to be like them. In a quote from Vanity Fair magazine, Angelina said her 4 year old daughter dresses "like a little dude...she likes to dress like a boy. She wants to be a boy. So we had to cut her hair. She likes to wear boys' everything. She thinks she is one of the brothers."

There is only one small problem with that: She is not a boy.

Now, don't get me wrong...there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a tomboy (heck, I was one, I much preferred to ride my Big Wheel and play with Tonka trucks rather than my sisters Barbies). A couple of examples of the tomboy difference from Shiloh's case are: Tomboys may prefer the outdoors and baseball to dance and tap, and don't like dressing like a girly-girl, BUT they are still shopping in the girl's section of the department store, and maintaining the identity of a girl.

Several of the mothers interjected that they weren't sure whether or not they would or would not let their daughter shop in the boy's section of the department store (or vice versa for a boy), for fear that they would be hindering their child's freedom and need to freely express themselves and be who they are.

As a Christian mother, here are my thoughts (I have tried to keep all opinion out of the matter and write solely based on Biblical fact):

I would not let my child go play in a bush of poison ivy simply because "he/she really wanted to" nor would I let him/her go play in a swarm of wasps nor would I let them just go jump in the deep end of the pool without a life vest (knowing they cannot swim) because they were confident enough to do so. Why? Because it would inflict physical harm upon their body, and could potentially end in their death.

Dear friends, so it is with our children's souls as well. The Lord gives us our children so that we may guide them and direct them according to His ways and not just let them simply do as they would please. How would they ever survive, and how would they ever learn right from wrong?

Yes! Certainly let them be free to learn and be themselves, but as with most things in life, there are limitations to what they should/should not be able to do. And we should look to God's Word for direction. They are God's own creation, He created them either a woman or a man and they should thus learn to be happy and rejoice in what God, their creator saw fit to make them.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (New International Version), Paul writes: "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men* nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

*1 Corinthians 6:9 - The words men who have sex with men translate two Greek words that refer to the passive and active participants in homosexual acts. (reference: http://www.biblegateway.com/ & Bible)

I am not going to turn this into a post on homosexuality. I will say that I do have homosexual friends whom I love dearly and they are some of the most positive people that I know. As much as I love them, I have to remember what the Bible tells me in 1 Corinthians 6 about their fate if they do not repent. Whether or not you believe a person is born a homosexual is neither here nor there, that is strictly an opinion. The bottom line is what God's Word says.

Just as I don't want my child to be a drunkard or a slanderer or an idolater. I as their parent have to guide them along life's journey and share God's word with them so that they will not become these types of individuals.

In today's society, the only thing we seem to remember or concentrate upon about God is that He is a loving God. But let us not forget that he is a just God as well. He lays that out in His word; one example being the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. In today's world, we only want to think of Heaven, but dear friends, may we not forget that there is a Hell.

God sent his son Jesus, as the ultimate sacrifice to forgive repentant sinners and save those that truly believe in Him. He did not do that in vain. Consequences of living in sin are real. As Christians, we cannot pick and choose what we want to believe in from the Bible. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is our society that changes, never His Word.

No rational person who has read the Bible can say that "Jesus was a good man" and not believe that He is the Son of God. Why? Because Jesus claims to be the Son of God in the Bible, therefore, if the reader does not believe that, then he makes Jesus out to be a liar. And liars are not "good people". So what I am saying is, that either you believe the entire Bible to be true, or else it is a complete and utter lie.

Alas...I digress...

In conclusion, this post was written with love from a Biblical perspective. It is certainly not meant to pass judgement on or to "blast" or "jab" at Angelina or Brad's parenting or any other persons parenting for that matter. I recognize that they are parents who surely love their children and are doing their best to raise them as they see fit. Perhaps they are not Christians, along with someone else who may come along and read this; if so, they can totally disregard this post and we can agree to disagree.

If they are Christians, then it may be that they have not considered the things written above. Nevertheless, I believe Shiloh and any other child should be taught to love themselves as God's creation. In Shiloh's case as a female whom God created and let her embrace her beautiful feminine identity...even if as a Tomboy (smile).

Love -

Kasey