Caitlyn Jenner and the Sad Truth

The latest copy of Vanity Fair magazine has caused quite a stir. On the cover is a picture of former Olympian Bruce Jenner, following his "gender transition," as Caitlyn Jenner. If you want the details of all he has to say on this whole ordeal then Vanity Fair is happy to share that with you. Last week you couldn't turn around without hearing or seeing someone commenting or posting about Jenner's change. Some was surely seen to be positive by Jenner and others I'm sure were not supportive in the least bit. The sad truth is when you look at Jenner and what he is doing you actually see a person consumed by their own sin.

According to Wikipedia Jenner professes to be a Christian. Going on the assumption that Wikipedia is correct and Jenner is not lying, we see a fellow brother in Christ who is being consumed by his own sin. Jenner is like any other person who professes to be a Christian. He is attacked daily by Satan in a spiritual battle. Unfortunately from what we see in the media, Satan is winning the battle. The real challenge when we see the images of Jenner is to know what needs to go on in his life and in ours.

The first thing that needs to go on is in Jenner's life is that he needs to, like all Christians, seek God's forgiveness through repentance. Following his own personal restoration with God, Jenner can begin to move forward in fellowship and unhindered worship of God. Until Jenner acknowledges his own sin and seeks God's forgiveness, nothing else we say or do really matters.

The first thing that needs to go on in the lives of Christians concerning Jenner is we need to be in prayer for Jenner. We all know what it's like to struggle with sin. We all know what it's like to be consumed by a sin that seems to gnaw at us every moment of every day. Jenner is in the same position and we need to pray for him. 1 John 5:16 and James 5:19 both speak of how we should pray for our brothers in Christ and help them to see the error of their ways.

Finally, Christians need to guard themselves against sinning because of Jenner. We need to be careful not to form hatred in our heart towards Jenner. Jesus in the Gospels and John in his first epistle remind us that hatred in the heart is equivalent to murder by our hands. Although we most likely will never meet Jenner in person we need to show Christian love towards him. That doesn't mean that we condone what he's doing, but that we do not kick a man while he's down and dealing with his own sin. The best way many of us can show our Christian love for Jenner is not partaking in the gossip and slander, instead encouraging other Christians to pray for him.

I realize in today's culture calling sin, well...sin, isn't a popular notion. We can be called judgmental and hypocritical. But in the end God's Word is the one making the judgment call, not us. When we see someone struggling with sin, we need to show them the same kind of grace God has shown us. That means praying for those struggling with sin and showing them godly love as well.


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