Bathroom Quarrels

I enjoy following politics and I have my fair share of opinions that I’m more than happy to debate with those who may disagree with me, but as I look at a lot of the headlines lately it seems like a lot of folks are only fighting because they don’t know any other way.  For me the whole transgender bathroom issue is representative of this.  It’s just the latest issue they have at their disposal to remain angry at the opposition.  Contrary to how some are trying to portray it, I just don’t think the transgender bathroom issue is that big of a deal. 

Having said that, I can already hear the counter argument that goes something like this; “What if your own child had to go into a bathroom with a transgender person?”  Okay, let’s play that argument out.  When our children are young we go into the bathroom with them so no real worries there.  As they get a bit older we start letting them go in the bathroom on their own and we will occasionally step inside just to make sure everything is okay. Eventually they become old enough and we are no longer concerned about their wellbeing when they have to use a bathroom.  So let’s say your child has reached that age and they go into a bathroom on their own and they encounter someone who strikes them as a little confusing in appearance.  What would happen?  They’d probably come out and tell you about the person they just saw and perhaps this might lead to a good parent-child educational moment.  Would that be the end of the world?  And let’s also be honest about the likelihood of all of this happening as well.  Think about the percentage of those who are transgender, and then think about the likelihood of your child being at the age where they start going into bathrooms on their own and then going into a particular bathroom at the exact same time a transgender person goes.  What are we talking about here, maybe 1 in 100,000? 

It seems to me to be just another issue people can use to make mountains out of molehills and keep on fighting.  As someone who is a Christian and leans conservative, once upon a time I used to get pretty worked up about the culture wars.  But I must admit I now find I’m tiring of them.  Don’t get me wrong; I do think there are plenty of things worth standing up for; I’m just not all that interested in getting worked up over the lesser things.  I think the powers that be in North Carolina were simply looking to keep a fight going when they passed that law.  I also thing President Obama took the bait on the other side of the issue in trying to allow transgender kids their right to choose the bathroom they want in public schools.  Is all of this really about rights or is it more about trying to stay angry at the other side?  2^nd Timothy 2:23-24 comes to mind.  Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.  I don’t want to get caught up in foolish ignorant controversies because I know I can have a tendency to be too quarrelsome, so I think I’ll sit this one out.

Sex, Drugs, Rock-n-Roll, and Dead Guys

Since the passing of Prince more and more seems to be coming out about his addiction to a various assortment of drugs.  I highly doubt anyone is surprised by this.  It seems to be the norm for so many in the entertainment industry.  I recently posted a question on Facebook that drew the ire of some of my Facebook friends.  I asked “am I the only one who remembers Prince as a creepy and perverted little guy?”  The Prince defenders came out hard and fast.  Perhaps it was a bit too early to pose such a question.  Understandably when someone passes we try and focus on the good things we remember about them.  In the case of Prince I received a lot of posts about his awesome guitar playing skills, his ability to entertain (although in hindsight we’re discovering that ability was primarily fueled by drugs) and his humanitarian efforts.  These are all legitimate points, which makes his probable death by overdose all the more frustrating.  Why did he have to do drugs in the first place?  Why do so many in the entertainment industry get involved with not only drugs but a life of debauchery in general?  I’m getting a little tired of people talking about the demons that must have plagued their life every time another musician or actor dies from drug use.  Somewhere along the way, long before they ever become addicted to any kind of drug, these people made conscious decisions to do something they knew may not be good for them in the end.  They choose a “party and player” lifestyle all on their own.  That’s where the old “sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll” saying comes from in the music industry.  It seems the money and fame comes and they just can’t help themselves.  Except they can help themselves.  They just choose not to.  They can make a conscious choice to not get involved in risky behavior.  While it may seem like they all do drugs, we know that’s not true either.  There are no doubt plenty who don’t.  Plenty with tough backgrounds, coming from dysfunctional families, who still don’t.  Plenty who are able to say “I’m not going to use the difficulties in my life as an excuse to get involved in such a lifestyle.”

The book of Proverbs is full of passages about the long life we can have by pursuing wisdom and righteousness and the short life we have when pursuing a life of debauchery.  Perhaps Proverbs 10:27 is the one that sums it up the best.  The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.  I have to admit I found the Message translation of this verse sadly funny when considering the recent death of Prince.  The fear of God expands your life; a wicked life is a puny life.  But I really don’t want this blog entry to be about poking fun of Prince.  The truth is none of us are perfect and we all have struggles.  I really do hope that Prince was able to discover what it means to be a follower of Christ.  I hope he was able to discover God’s love and grace for him.  But the evidence thus far isn’t encouraging.  I’m concerned that all that humanitarian stuff we have heard about him doing was done based on a false religion.  One that emphasizes good works to earn your salvation, instead of excepting God’s love and grace through the person and work of His son Jesus Christ and choosing to live one’s life for Him.  It occurs to me there are a lot of folks in the entertainment industry living incredibly sinful lives while at the same time doing a lot of good, getting involved in charities, and the like.  Why do you suppose that is?  Could it be they view their lives on some sort of cosmic scale?  And they’re hoping that the good is going to outweigh the bad when it comes to the sex and drugs part?  Could it be that’s what Prince was doing?  It wouldn’t surprise me. 

If you get nothing else from reading this blog, please know this one thing; the order matters.  We can’t perform good works to somehow earn a right relationship with God.  We have to accept God’s love and grace for us first and give our lives to Him, and then the good works just come naturally as a response to the love God has shown us in the first place.  The only thing the first order gets us is an eternity separated from God.  Accepting God’s love for us and choosing to live for Him first on the other hand gets us eternal life after death and abundant life in the present; a life that has no need for drugs.  Which order are you choosing?