Speaking Up for Truth
A week later, a meeting was held to explain the transgender
policy. I was fearful, so I prayed, “Father, I know this meet-
ing will contain lies. Do you want me to speak up? Please
give me wisdom.”
The speaker explained how babies are “assigned” their
sex at birth, a sex that later in life may not agree with the
reality of their gender. With a racing heart, I challenged her,
“Doctors don’t assign sex, they simply make an observation
and record the sex.” There was some agreement amongst my
coworkers, but the training continued.
I asked, “What if other boys want to do this just to sit with
the girls at meal times?” There was some more agreement
and discussion. Then I asked the question that put a target
on my back and would eventually lead to my forced resigna-
tion, “Will the center give an accommodation for those of
us who, for religious reasons, cannot follow such a policy?”
There was a pause, and then the answer came confidently,
“No, this is the law, and therefore, there will be no accom-
modation.” This was a lie because there was no such law.
More meetings would follow, not public but private ones.
With each meeting, God gave me increased boldness to
challenge the merits of the policy. In constant need of God’s
peace, I repeatedly quoted verses like Isaiah 41:13 to myself:
“For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right
hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” As I did,
God’s presence and power enabled me to walk through this
valley.
The first private meeting was between my immediate
supervisor, the principal of the school, and myself. John had
reported that I said I couldn’t call him his girl name due to
religious reasons. I may have been thinking that, but I never
said it to John.
The second private meeting was more serious and would
eventually lead to my resignation. John complained again.
He was working his way up the chain of command, and two
rungs up he found a new friend. The assistant director called
me in with the principal. She questioned me, “Can you
uphold this policy? If not, you will be put on an employee
improvement plan. And, if you do not make the necessary
improvement [to call this boy a girl], you may be terminated,
or maybe this is not the right place for you and you need to
resign.”
I honestly told her I could not comply with this policy
that lacked truthful support when compared to studies
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referenced by the American College of Pediatricians. I told
her I would teach this student, but I would not lie to him or
discriminate against him. I said I was looking for opportuni-
ties to encourage this young man and help him during his
initial days of treatment.
I informed her that this young man had stated in class
he knew he was a boy but sometimes wanted to be a girl. I
pleaded with my supervisors to help this confused young
man: “Why can’t we work together to help him move from
gender confusion to being the boy we all know he is?” The
meeting closed with no movement towards truth or help-
ing a confused teenager work to achieve mental order and
stability. Instead, I was asked to sign an employee improve-
ment plan. I refused because I did nothing wrong.
I knew the policy was wrong. However, I still wondered
why I struggled with the transgender part of the LGBT
policy (aside from God’s original design regarding males
and females). God opened my eyes to Section D of the policy
which states, “In general, unless it is detrimental to their
treatment, staff will address patients by their preferred name.
Staff members (including teachers) are to honor the wishes
of a resident who desires to be considered and referred to
as the opposite gender of what their biology says. This is
accomplished by using a name that indicates the opposite
gender of their biology.”
The phrase “detrimental to their treatment” became the
heart of my focus. Good and wise treatment necessitates
truth. The goal of treatment is healing, and healing comes
when we face reality (truth) and are able to cope with it. But
the policy encouraged us to allow transgender residents
to not face the truth and allowed them to exchange their
biological reality for a lie! By perpetuating a lie, what is
accomplished? This was a glaring departure from traditional
treatment methods.
This lie, in particular, is especially damaging because it
strikes at one of the key foundational truths of God’s Word,
that He created us male and female and told us to be fruitful
and multiply. Our ability to procreate as male and female is
intimately connected with having been created in the image
of God, the Creator of all things.
For teaching to be effective, it must be based on truth. To
teach falsely about the spelling of words, how state names
are pronounced or how to add and subtract would be unac-
ceptable. Leading my students into false ways, regardless of
their perception of reality, would not prepare them to live