To demand that others call us by our desired pronouns because it makes us feel comfortable in our skin is choosing comfort over God.
Comfort has always been an enticing proposition. Comfort is a selling point. I won't buy clothes that aren't comfortable, no matter how good they look, but has our current society gone a little overboard with comfort? My answer is yes.
Today, we demand people normalize our sins even though the acceptance of man doesn't change the mind of God.
We are flipping God's way on its head, calling evil good and good evil, just like Isaiah 5:20 says, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (NASB). This warning was given to us for the sake of our souls!
In the New Testament, Paul explains what will happen to those who attempt to hide the truth, and the promise is God's wrath. From my studies in the Old Testament, I know His wrath is real and more than terrifying. No one would ever want to experience God's wrath, but they will if they insist on keeping their god of comfort.
God knew this about us. God knew we would make ourselves idols (and gods) in an attempt to find comfort. We believe our sin won't feel so icky if others accept it. The truth is when you've encountered the living God, whether you admit it or not, sin makes you feel icky because you weren't created to live in sin; you were created to live in Him!
Instead of fleeing from sin, as James tells us to in chapter 4:7, we attempt to flee from God and the conviction of His Holy Spirit. Ignoring the conviction of the Holy Spirit is a dangerous thing to do. Our hearts become calloused the more we practice it.
A great example of a calloused heart is that of Pharoah in the beloved book of Exodus. In Exodus 7, Moses, Aaron, and the sons of Israel are blessed with signs from God to confirm for all who see that God is delivering them from Egypt. God gave Moses these signs so that the people would follow him out of Egypt. But if you've read this story before or even listened to it in Sunday school, you know it took a long while for them to leave because Pharaoh refused to let the people go. His heart was hard and unchanged by these miraculous, loathsome, bothersome plagues.
Are We Like Pharaoh Today?
Many of us today are just like Pharaoh.
Pharaoh represents many people who have hardened their hearts to God's sovereignty, direction, purpose, and plan for this world and their life. Take a moment to absorb this reality. Pharaoh is not simply a historical character, though he is easy to dismiss because he no longer lives. Pharaoh is a character all around us. Anyone who will not submit their body, soul, and mind to the Almighty God is Pharaoh. Pharaoh is anyone who uses their power and influence to defy God and go their own way.
Can you see that our modern world is precisely doing that by demanding that everything be done to make them feel comfortable in their sin? To honor God, we must submit ourselves to Him. In the words of Paul, we must die to ourselves (Romans 8:13). How can anyone who calls themselves Christian be on board with this movement of self-comfort at all costs when it directly defies the will of God?
To demand that others call us by our desired pronouns because it makes us feel comfortable in our skin is choosing comfort over God. We fight for trans rights to make others feel good about their carnal urges, and we won't stop until everyone says it's okay to change your God-given sex. It's a dangerous state to live in. Next on the agenda is normalizing pedophilia because these urges are more important than the safety and purity of our children. Can you not see how vile and depraved that is? God is nowhere near this comfort and acceptance agenda.
Contrary to popular belief, God doesn't want to indulge our carnal cravings to make us happy because He loves us. He wants us to submit to His perfect ways because He loves us and knows us better than we do. To believe that God's love means He bows down to our desires is entirely false, a lie from the devil. So don't be deceived. Those who struggle with these sinful urges can be right with God, but surrendering sin is necessary!
"God's way is perfect. All the LORD's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection." Psalms 18:30, NLT
Obedience and Submission
Obedience and submission aren't popular words; they have never been, yet God requires this of our hearts and minds. Submission and obedience open our eyes to the goodness of God. We all crave carefree lives but attempt to achieve it the wrong way. Exodus exemplifies this truth. God cares for those who obey, like when He told them to find shelter from the hail (Exodus 9).
Meanwhile, pride is always the real issue, so God calls us to be humble before Him. He knows that it's the only way problems will be solved. Humans have a bad habit of focusing on distracting issues. We spend time and energy on super-specific causes and attempt to correct them, but it's a waste of time. Total submission to God is the answer to all the problems that plague us.
God created the Ten Commandments because of His great love for us. These commandments are not bothersome or tedious; when you study them, you'll see that they are beautiful and intended to bring unity and peace to all people. That's what the world says they want. Equality and peace for all, but they try to achieve it against God's will, which only worsens things!
If we love Jesus, we must be willing to surrender all comforts that hinder us from walking in obedience. Exodus relates very well to this point again (although surrendering to God is taught throughout the Bible).
Trusting God
The killing of the firstborns throughout Egypt proves that even death is just if God says so. We have so many misconceptions about life and death, even among believers. The 2020 global pandemic revealed how little we trust God with our lives. Christians stopped coming to church, and when we did return, we were forced to wear masks. The devil clapped his hands to celebrate our weakness and willingness to follow the box in our living room instead of our living and breathing Creator.
We seem more comfortable trusting newscasters we don't know than a God we supposedly do.
Just like the Israelites, we weren't trusting God; we were trusting in man to make things right. We expected everyone to do what we thought was best for the nation instead of surrendering our nation to Him. These unmet expectations caused division and increased our anger. I still get angry when I think about everything we went through (and are still going through) because the general public was manipulated. My blood boils, and my heart rate quickens because I know God was not in our poor decisions; we left Him out, and we will suffer the consequences for years, maybe even decades, to come.
I believe we didn't trust God because, like the Israelites, we weren't close to Him. We knew who He was, but Christians today are more religious than relational. We don't spend hours a day seeking God's wisdom and will. We don't have time for that. We have too many things to do. (I'm hoping you can sense my sarcasm here.) Christians, we need to get back to God. Walk with Him and talk with Him. He is here for our small, medium, and large decisions. We don't need to figure this out alone; we can't. When we act without God, we only bring more destruction into our world.
Choosing comfort in our faith has made our witness weak. God calls us to be bold and courageous because He knows that's what this life will require! God has equipped us with everything we need to honor Him (Eph. 2:10, 2 Peter 1:3), but when we choose our god of comfort, we forget we're equipped, and God uses someone else to do the work.
Let's be honest with God, confess the comforts we've been holding onto, and surrender them to Him, trusting and believing that He has the best plans, just as His Word says.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Halfpoint Images
Vanessa Luu is a wife, mother, and faith-based writer. She speaks and writes to believers to encourage them to live authentically with God.
