Seeking Truth in Today's Troubled World

It is a sign of great moral confusion that we must now contend for truths so obvious that our ancestors would have regarded their denial as madness. That childhood should be protected, that the bodies of children should remain inviolate, that no man ought to maim or sterilize a child under the pretense of mercy—these are not the conclusions of some new or sophisticated philosophy. They are the simple dictates of reason, affirmed by every age of human civilization, and made certain by divine revelation. 

Yet here we are, forced to articulate what should need no argument. In Kansas, by overriding the governor’s veto, state legislators have done what is not merely politically expedient but morally necessary: they have declared that children shall not be subject to irreversible medical procedures in the name of an ideology that denies the reality of the created order. This should be a cause for thanksgiving, and yet one cannot help but lament that it was even necessary to pass such a law in the first place. 

On the Nature of Childhood and Authority 

Let us begin with first principles. What is a child? He is not, as some modern thinkers suggest, a sovereign individual capable of determining his own essence. Nor is he an empty vessel to be filled with whatever society pleases. A child is a person in development, in need of guidance and instruction. He does not yet possess the wisdom to govern himself, nor should he be expected to. This is why parents exist—not merely to provide food and shelter, but to direct their children toward what is good, to protect them from error, and to cultivate in them the habits of virtue. 

Christ Himself affirms the sanctity of childhood. He declares, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). Yet what are we doing when we tell a child that he may, by an act of will, alter the very essence of his being? We are not leading him to truth; we are leading him into a wilderness of confusion. Worse still, we are inflicting upon him wounds that cannot be undone, wounds that may rob him not only of his peace but of his very ability to bring life into the world when he is grown. 

Here, we must confront the modern deception. We are told that “gender-affirming care” is a necessity, that it is the only path to peace for those who struggle with their identity. But true care does not affirm a falsehood; it directs one toward reality. A child who believes himself to be something other than what he is does not need the surgeon’s scalpel; he needs the loving correction of those who can see farther than he. 

On the Folly of Self-Determination 

We might ask, do we allow children to make other life-altering decisions? Can a child sign a contract, enter into marriage, or take on the burdens of adulthood? We deny them these things not out of cruelty, but out of wisdom. Yet in this one matter—one with permanent consequences—we are asked to believe that they possess a clarity of mind that surpasses even the wisdom of their elders. The contradiction is striking. 

A child may, for a season, believe that he is a knight or a princess. He may insist, with great feeling, that he will one day rule an empire, that he will live forever beneath the sea, or that he does not need sleep or food. Yet we do not affirm these beliefs; we gently correct them, knowing that time and maturity will do their work. Why then, when a child insists that he was born in the wrong body, do we suddenly regard his voice as infallible? 

The Psalmist declares, “Know that the Lord, He is God; it is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3). If we are made by God, then we are not our own makers. The very notion that a man might remake himself according to his own will is the oldest and most dangerous of lies. It is the lie whispered in the garden: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). It is the lie that has driven every rebellion against the divine order. And now, in our own age, it is the lie that seeks to sever children from the very bodies that God has given them. 

On the Responsibility of Society 

If it is true that children cannot govern themselves, then it follows that those who are charged with their care must act with wisdom and courage. It is not enough to abstain from harm; we must actively protect. Christ warns in the strongest possible terms against those who would lead children astray: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). 

What then shall we say of those who lead children into irreversible harm? What shall we say of the doctors who wield the knife against them, of the teachers who encourage them toward it, of the politicians who defend it? If a man who leads a child into sin is deserving of a millstone, what of the one who leads him into mutilation? The judgment of God is not idle; the justice of God does not sleep. 

But judgment alone is not enough. We must also act in mercy. There are many who have been deceived, many who even now are suffering under the weight of choices they were never fit to make. To them, we must extend both truth and grace. If it is the case that some have been harmed beyond human repair, let them at least know that God does not despise the brokenhearted. If some bear wounds that cannot be undone, let them know that redemption is still possible. 

On the Hope of Restoration 

The passage of the Help Not Harm Act is a victory, but it is not the end. Laws may restrain evil, but they cannot restore wisdom where it has been lost. We live in an age that has forgotten what it means to be human. We must therefore labor not only to protect children from harm but to recover what has been forsaken: the knowledge that we are not our own, that we belong to God, and that the boundaries He has set are not chains but safeguards. 

Let us then pray, not only for justice, but for the renewal of minds. Let us stand firm in the conviction that truth is not subject to popular vote, nor morality to the winds of cultural change. Let us, in all things, remember the words of Solomon: 

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). 

May we have the wisdom and the courage to do so. 

In Christ’s service, ~ JFH