BEN F. VICK, JR.
Today's culture is attempting to blur the differences between the sexes. Yet, Jesus said, "Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female." (Matt. 19:4.) One is born either male or female. One's DNA tells which sex one is, regardless of changes made to one's body. That is true with plants, animals, and humans.
One of the areas in which there is the blurring of the sexes is clothing. Men and boys wear clothes that are feminine in style; likewise, women and girls wear manly clothes. Long ago, Moses wrote, "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God." (Deut. 22:5.) I do not concur with those who say this forbids a woman to wear pants. Adam Clarke commented on this verse:
…it is very probable that armor is here intended; especially as we know that in the worship of Venus, to which that of Astarte or Ashtaroth among the Canaanites bore a striking resemblance, the women were accustomed to appear in armor before her. It certainly cannot mean a simple change in dress, whereby the men might pass for women, and vice versa. This would have been impossible in those countries where the dress of the sexes had but little to distinguish it, and where every man wore a long beard. It is, however, a very good general precept understood literally, and applies particularly to those countries where the dress alone distinguishes between the male and the female. The close-shaved gentleman may at any time appear like a woman in the female dress, and the woman appear as a man in the male's attire. Were this to be tolerated in society, it would produce the greatest confusion. Clodius, who dressed himself like a woman that he might mingle with the Roman ladies in the feast of the Bona Dea, was universally execrated [abhorred].
The Bible Commentary states on this verse: "…that which pertaineth unto a man], i.e., not only his dress but all that specially pertains distinctly to his sex; arms, domestic and other utensils.... Further, it says, "The distinction between the sexes is natural and divinely established, and cannot be neglected without indecorum, and consequent danger to purity." (Vol. I, pp, 879-880.) Though we are not under the law of Moses, the principle is still clear. When men/boys dress like the more delicate sex, and women wear that which is manly looking, the distinction is blurred. We are sending the wrong message to the world.
Homosexuality is not innate. It is learned. Today's society is pushing in our schools, the media, and streets that homosexuality is normal. When little girls are dressed like little boys, and little boys are dressed like girls, it is no wonder there is confusion. Parents are to blame in the main.
There is also the blurring of the sexes in hairstyles. I recognize that many ball players and other famous people have greatly influenced society. Some men who play various sports – football, basketball, baseball, etc., wear their hair long, but that does not make it right nor wise. The two men in the Bible who we know had long hair – Samson and Absalom, were not good men. Women also wear their hair short. Yes, it is a culture and relative thing to some degree. But how long is too long? How short is too short? The late brother Guy N. Woods, bald as a cue ball, was asked the question in an open forum concerning Paul's words which read, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" (1 Cor. 11:14.) The question was, "How long is too long?' He jokingly said something like as long as it is no longer than mine. "Nature" in that verse means second nature, a long-standing habit. John wrote of some men who "had hair as the hair of women." (Rev. 9:8.) When a man's or boy's hair is so long that one cannot distinguish whether he is male or female, it is too long.
In the homosexual community (broadcasting, if not broadening), a woman with a butch haircut indicates she is lesbian. When a woman or girl wears her hair in this style, she makes a statement to the world, whether she recognizes it or not. Paul said, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom. 12:2.)
As Christians, we need to be different from the world in rearing our children and influencing our grandchildren. Teach them that it is ok to be different. That does not mean odd. Our dress, hair, and speech should not follow the culture if that culture blurs the sexes. We may be giving the wrong impression by how we look. Jesus prayed for his disciples, "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (John 17:14-16.) We must live in the world, but we do not have to be of the world.
James wrote, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4.) Let us not conform to the world but be transformed in speech and appearance.