{"id":1831,"date":"2022-03-01T13:56:46","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T13:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/?p=1831"},"modified":"2026-04-14T06:20:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T06:20:24","slug":"identity-woven-into-our-dna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/identity-woven-into-our-dna\/","title":{"rendered":"Identity: Woven Into Our DNA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-ca5ff7a6 alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\"><div style=\"font-size:24px\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color adobe-reg-italic wp-elements-85a8a21107b8ee66b96e773a6aa630b7 wp-block-post-date has-text-color has-web-light-green-color\"><time datetime=\"2022-03-01T13:56:46+00:00\">March 1, 2022<\/time><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:45px;font-style:normal;font-weight:600;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:4px\" class=\"has-text-align-center has-link-color proxima-font wp-elements-8489a226fd32958d683121eb2fa02d00 wp-block-post-title has-text-color\">Identity: Woven Into Our DNA<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-93ebfe8b alignfull uagb-is-root-container\"><div class=\"uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-aacfc05c66bbf56d11f544ac1bb525da wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u201cYou created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother\u2019s womb. \u2026 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. \u2026 Your eyes saw my unformed body.\u201d \u2014&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/esv\/Ps%20139.13\"><strong><em>Psalm 139:13<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>,&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/esv\/Psalm%20139.15-16\"><strong><em>139:15-16<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>&nbsp;NIV<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-d7ca5bbcb90c08c354e7ea8e434bf689 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Transgender athlete Lia Thomas gained global attention in December 2021 by shattering collegiate women\u2019s swimming team records. Before coming out as transgender in 2019, Thomas had competed on the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s men\u2019s team. After a year\u2019s hiatus and female hormone therapy, the biological male joined the women\u2019s team and immediately outswam teammates and opponents.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-dc84f79030bab4c4de69905ca34f0cc3 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Regarding recent accomplishments, Thomas says, \u201cI\u2019m very proud of my times and my ability to keep swimming \u2026 I\u2019m happy with them and my coaches are happy with them \u2026 that\u2019s what matters to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b3e169c85a81c24bea400e591dc891d5 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Thomas is happy with her records and maybe her fame, but will her new identity lead to long-term contentment? Biblical fact, medical research, and testimonials from former transgenders indicate that many who choose sex-reassignment surgery continue to battle the psychological and emotional conflicts they encountered before their transition. If their surgically created persona is their true identity, why aren\u2019t they truthfully satisfied?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>BIBLICAL FACT<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-184834f00cc47eeeda0384b694e365d4 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The Bible sheds light on their dissatisfaction in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/esv\/Eph%202.10\"><em>Ephesians 2:10<\/em><\/a><em>:<\/em>&nbsp;\u201cFor we are God\u2019s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do\u201d&nbsp;<em>(NIV).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-164099b59da12e0446b391f8d256c183 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The word translated&nbsp;<em>handiwork<\/em>&nbsp;in verse 10 was used to describe fabric woven thread by thread to create a tapestry.&nbsp;In other words, God wove every facet of our identity\u2014personality, interests, talents, and abilities\u2014into our DNA. These components work together to create a whole person. Changing the outward appearance mars a person\u2019s wholeness and generates an inner conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5bff0b502d9222a3e8fc1933aef778ff wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/esv\/Eph%202.10\"><em>Ephesians 2:10<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;also reveals that God&nbsp;<em>prepared in advance&nbsp;<\/em>the works and accomplishments that would bring us the most joy. The Greek word,&nbsp;<em>proetoimaz\u014d<\/em>, can be translated \u201crendered fit to receive.\u201d&nbsp;God designed us in a specific way so we would be \u201cfit to receive\u201d the works He has purposed for us to do. When someone alters his or her appearance, mindset, and lifestyle to create an identity that contradicts God\u2019s workmanship and his purposes, that person is destined to be unhappy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>MEDICAL RESEARCH<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-808459dc598bffe1f54a10f072ed53ff wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Medical research suggests that the dissatisfaction of those who transition may be linked to their physical well-being. Risks associated with feminizing or masculinizing hormone therapy include blood clots, infertility, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and stroke. The research also indicates that \u201cthe risk of infertility increases with long-term use of hormones, especially when hormone therapy is initiated before puberty.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-4310c5d2a88b44dbe4ce20dc2392d5f6 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">In addition to medical risks, emotional and psychological risks are heightened for those who suffer from gender dysphoria, especially among adolescents: \u201cFemale to male adolescents reported the highest rate of attempted suicide (50.8%), followed by adolescents who identified as not exclusively male or female (41.8%), male to female adolescents (29.9%), questioning adolescents (27.9%), female adolescents (17.9%), and male adolescents (9.8%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8051edc8b9367cdaa90a35c632dd4b7d wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">The Bible links a person\u2019s identity to both body and spirit.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/esv\/Mal%202.15\"><em>Malachi 2:15<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;says, \u201cYou belong to him in body and spirit.\u201d Similarly,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/esv\/1%20Thess%205.23\"><em>1 Thessalonians 5:23<\/em><\/a>&nbsp;says, \u201cMay your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of the Lord.\u201d Physical alterations do not change a person\u2019s inner makeup; instead, they create discord between body and spirit that may have grave physical and mental consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>TESTIMONIAL TRUTH<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-f7b24b5e706114fd9a73e3349a274387 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">In 2019, when the suicide of trans comedian Daphne Dorman gained national attention, Gillian Branstetter, media relations manager for the National Center for Transgender Equality, claimed that the high suicide rate among transgenders is \u201cthe product of a transphobic society that isolates trans people from support and resources and surrounds them with constant messages in the news, movies, and sometimes comedy that they are freakish, wrong, and unlovable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b7d30cc26b8d7882b3c62dff081399a1 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Yet the transgenders who come to me for counseling say the conflict arises within them, not from a \u201ctransphobic society\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-685fe57bae521f4337e735011bb2f81e wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u201cI believed many lies about myself. But in reality, God had not made a mistake in creating me with a male body. He planned every aspect of my being from the beginning. \u2026 There was never a woman inside my body, longing to be expressed. \u2026 Satan had created a stronghold of deception in my mind. With God\u2019s spiritual weapons, I had to take deliberate steps to tear down the lies and replace them with His truth. I was male, not female.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-3cc70bdb173d34a73744e80990422dfe wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u201cThis week I have determined to put an end to the personal insanity I have lived called transgenderism, and its final nightmarish, freakish end of sex-reassignment surgery\u2014the frontal lobotomy of the twentieth century.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-149e5305cd79e2a82aea091d87ee90fb wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u201cWay too many people have undergone expensive and invasive surgical procedures only to discover the transmogrification did not bring about their fantasized results. They longed to be free of feeling like a social misfit, only to discover that their masculine or feminine internal conflicts remained very much the same following surgery. The best earthly surgeon can never reach the depths of the wounded soul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-5497ae95619772bc644e923c5fac0895 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">\u201cFor a while, I felt like I was really a man. That\u2019s what everybody wanted. I also felt like I\u2019d accomplished something. I felt satisfied in the lie, but in reality, I was not. If I had been truly satisfied, I wouldn\u2019t have questioned what I did.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"adobe-reg blog-link has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e95fee70949a867c9e6a13af2bd37435 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#1a1a1ab3;font-size:18px;letter-spacing:0px\">Those who struggle with gender identity cannot solve their inner conflicts through surgery or through achievements made possible by their new identity. Swimmer Lia Thomas and all who embrace a false gender will ultimately be dissatisfied. As is true of every person, the transgender\u2019s path to peace is embracing their God-given biological identity and living within the boundaries He established:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading adobe-reg blog-link\" style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>\u201cThe mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.\u201d<em>&nbsp;\u2014&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/biblia.com\/bible\/niv\/Rom%208.6\"><strong><em>Romans 8:6 NIV<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading adobe-reg blog-link\" style=\"font-size:22px\"><strong>What can we do to help those who wrestle with their gender? Affirm their God-given identity, emphasize God\u2019s unconditional love for them, model grace and love, and pray that they\u2019ll discard the lies and embrace the truth: identity is woven into our DNA.<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"gsp_post_data\" \r\n\t            data-post_type=\"post\" \r\n\t            data-cat=\"uncategorized\" \r\n\t            data-modified=\"120\"\r\n\t            data-created=\"1646143006\"\r\n\t            data-title=\"Identity: Woven Into Our DNA\" \r\n\t            data-home=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cYou created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother\u2019s womb. \u2026 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. \u2026 Your eyes saw my unformed body.\u201d \u2014&nbsp;Psalm 139:13,&nbsp;139:15-16&nbsp;NIV Transgender athlete Lia Thomas gained global attention in December 2021 by shattering collegiate women\u2019s swimming team records. &#8230; <a title=\"Identity: Woven Into Our DNA\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/identity-woven-into-our-dna\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Identity: Woven Into Our DNA\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Denise Shick","author_link":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/author\/denise\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"\u201cYou created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother\u2019s womb. \u2026 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. \u2026 Your eyes saw my unformed body.\u201d \u2014&nbsp;Psalm 139:13,&nbsp;139:15-16&nbsp;NIV Transgender athlete Lia Thomas gained global attention in December 2021 by shattering collegiate women\u2019s swimming team records.&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1831"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1837,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831\/revisions\/1837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/livingstonesministries.org\/help4families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}