REPOST Todays’ AMI Quiet Time, originally posted on January 2, 2019, is provided by Pastor Ryun.
Devotional Thought for This Morning
“The Real Issue Looming over Sexual Identity and Gender Identity Roles”
Genesis 1:27
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
Psalms 139:14
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”
Meet French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir (1908–86), a pioneer of modern feminism, who once declared, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Her outlook served as a forerunner to modern conceptions of gender, including Harvard’s own policy on identity: “We understand that gender identity can be expressed in a variety of ways.” The unmistakable message is this: since “sexual identity is determined not by biology but by cultural condition” (Colson), one may choose one’s own sex or gender.
This, however, is not the central issue in modern feminism, except for the relatively few—roughly 0.1% of the population—who experience gender dysphoria. So when the political smoke clears, several questions about the nature of sex and gender still remain.
1. Is sexual identity fixed or fluid?
This question arises largely because the terms sex and gender are treated as synonymous—a point on which both progressives and conservatives often agree. I would argue that while the two are certainly related, they do not refer to the same thing. Sex is the biological distinction between male and female and is therefore fixed. Gender refers primarily to traits and roles culturally attributed to the sexes—precisely the realm Beauvoir considers fluid.
When the two terms are fused, the fluidity associated with gender roles is transferred to biological sex, which is then viewed as equally malleable. But while gender roles may be fluid, no cultural condition can alter basic biological realities: first, the 23rd chromosome pair is typically XY for males and XX for females (with rare exceptions that affect a small number of individuals who nonetheless still identify with their biological sex); second, females have ovaries while males have testes; third, females have higher estrogen levels and males higher testosterone levels. And that is only the beginning—numerous physiological differences between the sexes are widely acknowledged. Thus, when Scripture declares that God created “male and female” (Gen. 1:27), it affirms, among other things, that the two sexes are biologically distinct.
2. Do physiological differences produce distinct psychological traits?
The answer is yes. A 2012 Psychology Today article, citing a study of more than 10,000 participants, states: “Women scored much higher than men in Sensitivity, Warmth, and Apprehension, while men scored higher than women in Emotional Stability, Dominance, Rule-Consciousness, and Vigilance.” This is why Beauvoir herself notes, “Women should not be judged to be equal only insofar as they are like men… Women and men are different.”
3. Do biological and psychological differences mandate fixed gender roles?
This brings us to the final—and central—question: Can gender roles at home and in the workplace change over time despite the real differences between the sexes? Put differently, do these differences require certain roles?
For example:
- Are women inherently better suited to raising children, thus making stay-at-home motherhood the natural norm?
- Can men fulfill that role just as effectively?
- Can women serve in combat roles and perform, on average, at the same level as men?
- Can men serve as military nurses as effectively as women? (Men were only readmitted as military nurses in 1955.)
- In the church, can women preach to men despite passages that appear to restrict this (1 Tim. 2:11–12; 1 Cor. 14:34–35)?
4. What would Beauvoir say?
First, she does not deny biological or psychological distinctions between men and women. To believe otherwise is to ignore the warning of Proverbs 22:28: “Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set.” One commentator notes that the landmark represents “the inviolability of the sacred order established by God.” When a society disregards God’s basic order by asserting that sexual identity is fluid—calling a boy “she” and vice versa—it distorts the minds of the vulnerable and risks long-term harm that outweighs any short-term relief for some.
What Beauvoir does argue is that cultural conditions discourage women from assuming sociopolitical roles traditionally held by men. This is a legitimate question—one that deserves careful consideration without mangling English grammar. So can cultural conditions shape gender roles despite biological and psychological differences? If a girl is given a gun, will she become more assertive and thus more inclined toward leadership? If a boy is given a doll, will he become more passive and pliant?
5. Nature and nurture
Ultimately, we return to the classic nature-versus-nurture debate. A sensible answer involves both. My specific conclusions, developed more fully in later posts, are these:
a. Women should be encouraged to pursue whatever vocations they deem fitting, and society should remove unjust barriers. If this suggests that workplace gender roles are fluid and culturally conditioned, that is correct.
b. While many social roles are mutually accessible to both sexes, men and women do not always perform at the same level in certain tasks, due to differences in physicality and, to a lesser extent, psychology. This should not be ignored.
c. In the church, women must navigate with grace between two schools of thought:
- Complementarianism, which upholds distinct yet complementary roles for men and women.
- Egalitarianism, which sees their roles as equal, including in preaching and teaching.
Meanwhile, we should “be sympathetic” (1 Pet. 3:8 NIV) toward those who genuinely struggle with looking one way while feeling another. But rather than calling a boy “she” or viceversa, I would greet such a person by saying, “Hello, you who are ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Ps. 139:14). How are you?” And from there, I would find a gracious yet honest way to navigate pronouns.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of life and for the many undeserved privileges men and women enjoy simply by living in the West. Before I think of myself as a woman or a man, remind me that I am first and foremost Your child in Christ. Help me not only to live this new life in Christ, but also to share it with the men and women who still live without the hope found in Him. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Acts 25
Lunch Break Study
Read Judges 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
1 Kings 12:25-31:“Then Jeroboam [the first king of Northern Kingdom—Samaria being its capital] built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.”
1 Kings 17:6: “In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria, and he carried the Israelites away to Assyria and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
Questions to Consider
1. Many people in our world are doing what is right in their own eyes; those who advocate that sexual identity is determined by cultural condition certainly are doing that. Now look at what Jeroboam did—in what ways he also did what was right in his own eyes?
2. What is the ulterior motive that drove this king to completely ignore God’s sacred order?
3. What became of the Northern Kingdom? That is to say, what is the final outcome of a society that defies God’s inviolable order, whether spiritual or sociocultural?
Note
- King Jeroboam committed two actions that radically altered the sacred order God established for temple worship—an order essential for sustaining Israel’s covenant relationship with Him. First, he shifted the center of worship from Jerusalem to Bethel and Dan. Second, although God had decreed that only Levites could serve as priests, Jeroboam appointed anyone he deemed suitable in his own eyes.
- His motive for breaking God’s sacred order is clear: he feared that if his citizens traveled to Jerusalem (the capital of the Southern Kingdom) to fulfill their temple obligations, their loyalty might shift to his rival kingdom. In other words, Jeroboam altered God’s design to safeguard his own personal and political interests.
- The Northern Kingdom was ultimately destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 722 B.C., after only about 150 years of existence. History shows that all empires eventually fall—and the more swiftly they defy God’s sacred order, the more swiftly their demise comes. As Psalm 9:17 declares, “The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.”
Evening Reflection
We began the day by talking about the biological and psychological differences between males and females. It seems fitting to end with this question: Men, how do you view women? Is your default posture to objectify them? They are not objects but human beings who bear God’s wonderful image.
Women, how do you view men? Is your default outlook to see them as chauvinistic, insensitive, even predatorial humans? The MeToo movement has sadly exposed that some men are still behaving very badly. The next time you witness such actions or someone defending them, tell them, “Stop, in the name of Jesus; I will not allow you to demean a child of God like this.” If you have been a victim, then I would pray that you find healing in Christ and strength to forgive the perpetrator at some point. At the same, please do not be given to think that all men are looking to take advantage of women—many of us follow Christ who admonishes husbands to “love their wives as their own bodies” (Eph. 5:28a).
If you are married, pray with your spouse right now. For the rest, pray for members of the opposite sex whether at home, work or church.
