Over the last five years or so the Western world has become increasingly polarized over politics and, in America at least, Christians have become willing participants. I’m not implying this is a good or bad thing, only that we need to make sure our response to the world is properly measured and reflect Biblical thought. Pastor Mark Anthony of Grace Fellowship in York, Pennsylvania recently wrote an open letter (published here) rightly criticizing an unnamed Christian organization’s response to the president’s recent ban on transgender individuals serving in the US military. This is, partially, a response to him.

What prompted pastor Anthony’s opinion piece was a letter he received from a Christian organization cheerleading the removal of transgender people from America’s military. He believes – and since we do not have the letter that offended him we cannot confirm – that the letter presented a form of derision against transgender people and that it was not a Jesus-like response. He carefully notes that the military, funded by taxpayers, should not be on the hook for paying for sexual reassignment surgery, but that we shouldn’t show animosity towards those who seek such surgery either. Both are points Think-Biblically.com agrees with. We think the issue that pastor Anthony was really trying to address, without actually doing so, is how Christians should to respond to our culture in a Biblical and relevant manner – a misstep we’ll try to correct here.

It is regrettable that we cannot keep politics out of the moral and religious domains; it would be preferable if government could be tasked to determine highway routes and expenses, developing a strong national defense, and protect our borders and interests both at home and abroad (to name a few). Governing, however, is messy because people’s lives are messy, and moral decisions have to be weighed and made in such a way as to protect liberty and citizens alike. It’s up to us to help draw the lines of distinction and inject God’s wisdom into the conversation.

In the case of transgenders in the military, for example, the president’s decision was not based on morality or religious conviction, but on protecting soldiers and the military’s budget. The people who serve in our military should be of the highest caliber and, it should go without saying, psychologically and emotionally healthy. Anyone, transgender or otherwise, who does not meet this criteria should be cut from military service. I think everyone can agree that if a person is considering gender reassignment surgery there is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed outside of a battle zone.

As for the church, we need to recognize that transgender people are not an enemy of the cross, but rather part of the purpose of the cross. We, more than anyone, recognize that a person is not merely a biological machine. Any kind of alteration to our physical bodies does not impact the soul which, incidentally, shares the same gender as our bodies. In other words, gender reassignment surgery will not resolve the problem a transgender person is experiencing. By coming to an understanding of the way God made us – male and female, physical and spiritual, and in His image – healing can begin and a person’s wholeness can be restored.

What does this mean when responding to political events? It means that our reasoning should always include both a Biblical perspective and a recognition that Jesus is the answer. No one, not even a person who has followed God their entire life, understands completely. The apostle Paul said that, now, we see as through a glass darkly. Factor this into your response, or be branded a hypocrite by both man and God.