Should Christian Homes, Schools, and Churches Have a Gender Curriculum?

The answer to this question is a resounding “Yes!”

We must be more purposeful about this than ever before.  It must be instruction that is Bible-based and does not follow the extremes or errors of popular culture.

Fred McFeely Rogers might have had a pulse on the thinking and feelings of children more than any person in modern history.  He addressed the subject of gender identity decades ago. Children’s questions about gender and gender identity are a natural part of the curiosity of childhood.  The role of parents is to listen and provide guidance as children ask those questions.

When our children grew up in an agrarian society, the distinctions between male and female biological functions and roles surrounded them every day.  Bulls did not have calves and could not give them milk.  Only hens laid eggs.  Now it is much easier to lie to kids about such things as gender fluidity.  The only way you can battle lies is with the truth.

The following must be part of the parental discussions and curriculum going forward.

God created the world and He created the genders.

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27) 

Both men and women are created in God’s image.  Neither gender is any less of a creation in design or quality than the other.  But it is also clear that God created men and women differently.  This is how God made it from the beginning.  It is His plan for that beautiful relationship between man and woman and provides security and health for the family that they will raise for God’s glory.  God created them male and female and then commanded that they join together emotionally, spiritually, and physically and populate the earth.

The attack on marriage and the family today is Satanic.  It is designed by the Evil One to destroy the creation that God loves.  It is Satan’s way of walking onto this planet and shooting it up out of anger and vengeance.

Gender distinctions are a God-thing, not a sociological thing.

Gender roles are also dictated by God and recognized by scripture.

It’s not just the biological differences between men and women that God created, the gender roles are also determined by God.  Until the invention of the bottle and baby formula, all the nutrition for the survival of newborns HAD to be supplied by the mother. The maternal job description described in Proverbs 31 is domestic but also demands significant skill, intelligence, wisdom and ingenuity.  The idea that the most important work in society is done in a factory or office is also a lie.  The home is where society’s most important work is done.

There is huge room for flexibility in behavior and interests within those gender roles.

We also need to remind our children that there is room for a wide variety of interests and talents within gender roles.  Girls who are tomboys should feel not insecure about their femininity.  After all, that Proverbs 31 woman “strengthened her arms.”  She could plant a field and harvest it just as easily as clothe her children.

Boys should not be pegged as out of touch with their masculinity because they have an interest in music or the arts.  They do not have to shoot things to be considered 100% masculine.

Exaggerations of Gender roles are unbiblical. 

The gender confusion today is partly a result of the caricature of the genders forced upon us by the advertising and entertainment world.  Women have been portrayed as sexual objects and without drop-dead female attractiveness have been treated almost as castaways by the culture.  Is it any wonder some girls have believed that they would be more accepted and more loved if they made a go of it as a boy?

In the same way, the comic book culture that has now taken center stage in the entertainment industry presents an overly muscular, testosterone-filled, fight-filled world that makes many young men feel absolutely inadequate.  Neither of these is a true representation of biblical femininity or masculinity.  There is nothing wrong with a boy being rambunctious or working hard to build his strength and athletic abilities. There is something wrong with expecting him to become something that is unrealistic.

In order to save their children from the trouble ahead, parents need to be very careful about how much entertainment media and social media they allow their children to consume.  They will have to cut back on work commitments and get their children out in nature doing fun things that kids love and teaching along the way.

Plain talk about what is being taught in popular culture is essential. 

Preserving a child’s innocence is often a formula that will set them up for disaster later on.  Parents, churches, and schools must have very hard conversations with young children about what is being taught in the world regarding gender ideology and fill them with Bible answers.

Consider this.  Whoever has the “real” discussion with a young person first, is usually viewed by that young person as the expert on that subject.  7, 8, and 9-year-olds should know that there are people out there in the world that think that if some boys become girls and some girls become boys, they will be happier.  They need to know what hormone treatments do to the body and how it impacts a person’s ability to have children in the future.  They need to understand what gender change surgery is and the damage that it does to the body.  They need to understand that full gender transformation is impossible and to attempt it is self-destructive.

Even discussions about human sexuality must happen much earlier than most parents think.  Children are exposed to this subject very early in their childhood years in the culture and by their friends—even Christian friends.  The goal would be that whenever their friends bring up the subject of sex and sexuality for the first time, your child should be able to answer “Oh yeah, my parents already told me about that.”

As churches and schools, we must provide the materials to parents to help them have these conversations with their children, and then it is essential that these conversations take place.

Truth is the only way to combat a lie, but that truth must also be timely to be effective.  This is our battle, we have no choice but to fight it.