Am I insane or is that whole Jenner-Kardashian family
scenario more in need of a good psychiatrist than a plastic surgeon? Really!
Enquiring minds want to know . . . especially mine. Pray tell me, what is it
with all this reality television stuff? Naked and afraid? My suggestion is that
these two put on some clothes and reenter the real world. That should take care
of a lot of their whimpering. I don’t watch the stuff so maybe I’m missing
something here, but I’ll take the chance. The news and commercial snips of
these shows is enough to turn me off.
What I do see, however, is that a large segment of our
society has gone off their rocker. And, understandably so, I might add. I say this
because sanity has to have fixed reference points or it loses its bearings, and
in my opinion, moral relativity just ain’t working. What else should we expect
than communal insanity when large segments of citizens are fixated on the
morally bizarre? I’m thinking here, mainly, of the politically correct crowd.
Forgive me if you disagree, but I guess I am just a little
old fashioned. Well, as a matter of fact, so was Jesus. On one occasion he
said—
To what can I compare this generation? It is like children playing a game in the public square.
They complain to their friends,
‘We played wedding songs,
and you didn’t dance,
so we played funeral songs,
and you didn’t mourn.’
For John didn’t spend his time
eating and drinking, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ The Son of Man,
on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a
drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is
shown to be right by its results.”
I reference this because I think it speaks in a very
special way to our generation also. Primarily, it seems, that generation was
fascinated—perhaps, fixated on the imagination. At least it seems so to me
based on Jesus’ assessment. In that generation for them it appears that reality
was too cumbersome, and perhaps even frightening, so they attempted to
reconstruct their world. No better way than playing games. Of course this
didn’t bring any lasting satisfaction so they complained when the games didn’t
work. Human nature has an ingrained desire for something better, more permanent
than the imagination, entertainment and game playing. Yet, they continued in
their cynical folly, thinking that will bring satisfaction as do the bulk of
Americans today. They were a cynical bunch, too. John was criticized because of
his austere life-style and was said to be demon possessed; whereas, Jesus was
living it up, reveling with the low life. Confused, they just couldn’t seem to
make up their mind on how one should behave. Jesus, however, nipped that indecision
in the bud when in essence he said, “Do you want to really know how to live?
Then follow the result trail, because ‘wisdom is shown to be right by its
results.’” In other words, since it is quite obvious that you are dissatisfied
with the results your philosophy of life is producing, no doubt it would be
best for you to stop the make-believe and soberly take on a different set of
standards by which to live.
Amazing, isn’t it? People just don’t seem to learn.
So, back to the Jenners and Kardashians, do you really
expect Bruce, at age 65, to find himself—or as they now say, herself? I doubt
it.
Now, this is not to say that Bruce does not really want
to be a woman or at least have the appearance of one, since as I understand it,
he has decided against a sex-change—which, in my opinion, would not really be a
change at all—more of a camouflage, I would say. Anyway, my question is: What ever
possessed him to think that he was really a female captured in a male body? I
do not know, that’s for sure. It baffles me. However, psychologists say that
gender identity is usually fixed at between the ages of 3 to 5, and my guess is
that perhaps at that early age he gave in to the female fantasy. It is not abnormal
for a young boy or girl to switch gender roles. I know that I did. When I
played house with the little girl and her brother next door, we constantly
fought over who would be the mother. Mothers just seemed to have a more
interesting life than 9 to 5 fathers back in those days. No child wanted to
mimic a tired daddy, slumped in a chair, responding with an occasional nod in
agreement with something mother said. Playing the kid was totally unacceptable
for me, too. My little girl friend next door was too hard on kids for that to
be any fun, either. Of course, I said all of that to say this: Not once, do I
ever recall that I wanted to change my gender except in role playing, but
fortunately I had the good sense to realize that role playing is never
reality—it’s a game.
So, back once again to Miss/Mr. Jenner. Do I condemn him? No, but I do pity
him. What a sad reality. He is trapped in his own imagination, and for me that
is sad, very sad, indeed. Apparently he is sad, too, if the number of times he
tears up in interviews is any indication. There’s no happiness there. However,
I will leave final judgment up to God, that’s his work not mine. Maybe God can
find some redemptive quality there. I can’t, however.
What then is the solution? At this point, I am not even
sure there is any solution. His fantasy is too ingrained for him to escape at
this late date. Unfortunately, sometime in his early life he allowed his mind
to trick him into believing that life is really an imaginary game. And, in all
truth, the Scripture is right when it says, “As a man thinks, so is he.” Thinking
and imagination do affect behavior, who we are—but, as Jesus once said, No
matter how hard we think (or wish) we cannot add one centimeter to our height. Nor,
can we, just magically change gender by the sheer force of imagination or the
knife of a skilled surgeon.
So, I suppose the lesson we can learn from all of this is
that it terribly unsettling in the long run when we allow our fantasies to
control our conduct.
The mind is a wonderfully creative mechanism; yet, it
must be programmed. The outcome depends on the income. Garbage in, garbage out.
Foolishness in, foolishness out. As a man or woman thinks, so is he or she.
That is not to say that the will is completely disengaged—it most certainly is
not. However, for the sane there must be a pliable option, something that works
that squares with reality. Fantasy is fun, but in the long run is a poor
substitute for reality.
While studying abnormal psychology at university we were
shown a film of a young girl that was literally raised by dogs; and if I am not
mistaken it was a control study done by some god-awful university in the former
Soviet Union. Anything for science, I suppose. Yet, in my opinion it is not
lesser of an evil that of Dr. Josef Mengele at the Auschwitz concentration camp
during World War II. That, however, is a subject and topic of its own. So, now
back to the subject at hand.
The young girl really thought she was a dog. She barked
like a dog. Slept in a dog house. Ate out of a bowl and even chewed on grass.
Why grass? I don’t know. Perhaps to get
some nutrients not provided for in the dog food. Fantasy controlled her. Was
she a dog? Absolutely not. What really mattered, as far as research was concerned,
however, was she thought she was.
Make sense? If not, it should, because morally she was
reduced to the level of a dog. She selfishly fought over and hoarded food. She
clawed and bit the other dogs to get her way. She was a dog. However, not
really. She just thought she was a dog.
Well, enough of that analogy. I am sure you get the
point, whether you agree with my conclusions or not. However, in the wise words
of Solomon, may I encourage you, indeed all of us, to—
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Keep your mouth free of
perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight
ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the
paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. (Proverbs 4:23–26 (NIV)
For out of the heart flows the issues of life!
In any event, this is one man’s opinion.
Be blessed—better yet, bless someone else!
JimR_/
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