Does anyone else see the irony in the contrasting
reactions to these two recent news stories?
A male former Olympic athlete, now in his
60's comes out as a female. This has
apparently been his (her?) true identity all along, despite external evidence
to the contrary. This person is then made
up as a woman, adorned in beautiful (sexy?) feminine clothing and placed on the
front cover of national magazines, ogled and admired and proclaimed a hero for
coming out.
The president of the Spokane, WA chapter of
the NAACP, who was assumed for years to be African-American, is outed as being
white. She is shamed, mocked and ridiculed
by commentators and comedians, black, white, male and female. She resigns in apparent disgrace.
What's wrong with these two pictures? Why is one's reaction to an identity crisis
considered heroic while the other's similar reaction is considered disgraceful?
I confess I know little about either of these
people. I suspect, however, that most of
their admirers/detractors are as ignorant as I am. Nor have I faced conflicts anything like
theirs must have been and still are. So
how do I process this?
Usually when confronted with issues such as
these I first tend to try to find some common ground, some connection with my
own past experiences. Though I can find
little if anything to help me relate to the person with the sexual identity
problem, I believe I can sympathize to some extent with the person with the
"ethnic identity problem." For
years Uni and I were involved with ministries across racial lines. There were times when I found myself
identifying more with my African-American students and friends than with my
white friends. (And yet I still consider
myself white.)
However, past experiences, while helpful are
not enough. The questions I must ask are
"How does the Scripture address issues like these?" "Or does it?" "Are the two identity issues
similar?" "Or are they
completely different?"
A few passages come to mind:
·
"...
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. There is
neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male nor
female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:26-28
·
"...
and (you) have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after
the image of its creator. Here there is
not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,
free; but Christ is all and in all."
Colossians 3:10-11
Our maleness/femaleness or our
blackness/whiteness are of secondary importance. It is our relationship to Christ that
counts. Both of the above persons as
well as many others, undoubtedly have had and still have deep emotional
struggles relating to their identity as human beings. But in Christ these identity problems fade
away and we who belong to Christ should recognize this.
Another passage which relates:
·
"For
though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might
win more of them. To the Jews I became
as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those
under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the
law) that I might win those under the law.
To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being
outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those
outside the law. To the weak I became
weak, that I might win the weak. I have
become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that
I may share with them in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
It would seem that Paul's concern for people
- as that of his Master - was to love them and to bring them to the knowledge
of Christ. He empathized and he
attempted to identify as much as possible with them and their situation.
While the world, the secular pundits and news
media, may make heroes of some and condemn others, this is not to be our
way. The follower of Jesus must recognize
the needs of others and point them to Christ and to a church in which they can
find acceptance no matter what their "identity" and where they can
ultimately find their identity in Christ.
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