Jesus Loves the Outcasts

Friends, family, and beyond, 

my heart is shattered by the outpouring of hatred on my Facebook feed this week. I have never been ashamed of my faith, or my friends for their faith. The second became true today. I am so bothered, that I am actually going to share my opinion on a very hot button issue. 

Caitlyn Jenner has been the subject of much hate this week. She publicly took a stand and decided to tell the world she could no longer be forced to live as a man. Many people applauded her for her bravery and courage to make such a stand. However, the Christian and conservative communities refused to accept her. 

A particular quote I have seen no less than 3 times today reads as follows "He is not a hero, and he is not a woman.  He is what we all are: lost, sinful, and desperately in need of Jesus. I pray he finds Him” This quote came from a blog post titled “Bruce Jenner is Not A Hero”. Let me tell you, I literally almost sobbed when I read this quote. I felt sick to my stomach, and I felt ashamed. I felt truly heart broken. 

I want to spend the next few minutes addressing this quote. First off, referring to Caitlyn as a “he” is incredibly disrespectful, hurtful, and wrong. I do not care if you do not agree. Have enough respect to use correct pronouns. All you will end up doing is turning transgendered individuals away from Christ. 

Secondly, Caitlyn Jenner is, indeed, a hero. Perhaps you are angry because she was given an award over a wounded veteran. To that point, I would agree that the veteran deserved the award. Men and women in uniform are the biggest heroes in our country and are often over looked. BUT, that does not mean Caitlyn is not a hero. Some of you have never had the privilege to know a transgender person. I can promise you, it is eye opening and rewarding. I can tell you that the courage it takes not only to make such a huge change, but to stand up and say this so publicly is astronomical. Just look at what has been said about her this week alone. She is standing up for the rights, freedom, and the acceptance of all people. That, my friends, is heroic. 

Man, I am already half a page down, and I am just a few words into the quote. I have already addressed the issue of referring to Caitlyn as a “he.” I am pretty sure you know my opinion of the portion of the quote that states Caitlyn is not a woman. If not let me re emphasize this for you…that is rude. Be polite, if you don’t want to use the word woman…do not use the word man to describe Caitlyn, either. It is horribly offensive and very damaging to the transgender community when you refer to them as the gender they are trying to escape. 

Before I move on to the worst of it, let me start by agreeing with this next part of the statement (other than the “he”) "He is what we all are: lost, sinful, and desperately in need of Jesus.” YES, as a matter of fact, she is. We are all in absolute need of Jesus =. I can tell you I need Jesus every minute of every day of my life. I simply cannot be without Him.

However, my issue mostly comes with the very last line of this blog. “I pray he finds Him.” My heart hurt with this one. To be fair, maybe this author had the best intentions with this. Maybe he/she did really pray that Caitlyn finds Jesus. But, to me, this quote is more than that, friends. To me this quote says a few things. 

The first of which is that in order to be loved by Christ and to love Him back, you cannot be transgender. That simply breaks my heart. The Jesus I know, was friends with the tax collectors, adulterers, and prostitutes.  I do not believe Jesus discriminates based on sexual orientation. 

Secondly, this statement brings back memories from my childhood. My sister (or brother) and I would fight and the best way to end an argument was to yell out “WELL I WILL PRAY FOR YOU” first. The person to scream it loudest or first was the winner. This statement says, obviously, your actions are evil and wrong; therefore, I will pray for them to change. This, is not okay. This is boiling a person down to only what you feel is their worst quality. This is telling a person you will not love and accept them unless they are willing to change. 

Quotes like these, are simply not okay. They do nothing but cause deep pain for those who they attack. They simply turn people away from our God. Unfortunately, this was not the only hurtful quote I saw today. I saw many more. I will not sit here and address every one of them. 

This is what I will do though. I will leave you with something that I wrote. I wrote this message about 3 minutes after I read the quote discussed above. I was so devastated that I have asked God to protect the transgender community from it (the quote). 

Being a follower of Jesus does not mean degrading another human being. Being a follower of Jesus does not mean continuing to use the pronoun “he” after an individual is begging to be called a “she”. Being a follower of Jesus is not standing against transgender individuals. Being a follower of Jesus is recognizing the needs of human beings in all walks of life, religions, sexual orientations, and races. Being a follower of Jesus is loving people deeply, caring for their needs, and showing them Jesus through words and actions alike. I do not care if you do not agree with Caitlyn Jenner, but at a least have the common decency to use correct pronouns. Your refusal to be polite does not make you a better Christian, it hurts those around you and ultimately turns them away from Him. Make a transgender friend, then maybe you can understand why Caitlyn is brave. 

Anna 

My husband requested I share with you how amazing it has been to have a transgender friend. I would love to do so, however I do not feel that it is in our friend’s best interest to share her story, especially without first asking her.