A Look At Broken Culture: Identity (part 2)

I Corinthians 15:39; Genesis 1:27; Proverbs 22:5-6

As some of you may have noticed in the comments from Part 1, I was confronted about my comments on "Furries". People do not like when what they identify as is challenged. That is true for all of us. If someone approached us and told us that we were in a false denomination, our natural instinct would be to respond with anger or outrage. As Christians, this is why we must place our identity in Christ, the Christ of the Bible. It is then that we will 1) Respond appropriately, as Christ did, and 2) Not be offended because they are not challenging us, but Christ in us.

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All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

I Corinthians 15:39

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:27

Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:5-6

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Because I was challenged, I looked into the world of furries even more. While on the surface it appears benign, there are a couple of issues I would like to address. Let me say, because of all the recent hype, being a furry is not about using litter boxes or eating cat food. It is in line with the kids and adults who spend too much time dressing up and fantasizing about living in a Harry Potter world or Marvel super heroes. So, what is wrong with playing pretend?

God made humans and animals different. The Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth that our bodies (flesh) are different (I Corinthians 15:39). Genesis 1:27 says that God made man (humanity) in His image. From the very beginning, man was distinct from animals. This is also seen in the fact that man was placed in a position to tend and keep the garden (Genesis 2:15). The tending (working) of the garden and the keeping (watching or guarding) required him to be lord over the garden. This is seen in Adam's naming of the animals in the garden. He had the authority over everything in the garden, though he still operated under God's authority.

One issue with fantasizing about being an animal, or an anthropomorphic animal, is that the person is dreaming of being less than what God created him/her to be. It is a fantasy to not be made in the image of God. To be fair, I doubt anyone who participates in the furry fandom world would actually vocalize this. There may be some that would claim to be Christians. There are some that would claim to be non-religious, some would claim another religion, and others would claim to be theists. Regardless of their religious views, God's Word is clear; they were made in His image and for His glory. This means that their lives were intended to be lived for Him.

We live in a time when the lines of fantasy and reality are blurred. Technology allows us to disengage from reality and all of its problems. Then, there is a desire to blend the two. Some people begin doing things to merge their fantasy with reality. While this seems harmless on the surface, as Christians, we must ask the question, "In what way does this glorify God?" It does not matter if a person is pretending to be an animal, a witch, a comic book character, any other fictitious thing. This is the literal definition of a hypocrite; "one who wears a mask".

I'm not talking to non-Christians here. I am speaking to Christians. We need to be aware of those things that would take our children's minds and hearts. Those things that would distract or lead them away from God need to be guarded against. They may appear innocent, and indeed they may not be inherently evil, but if they draw a person's heart away from God, they should be avoided. I would say the same thing to the parent who allows their child to watch a phone or tablet in church.

Solomon said that thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse. These are things that entangle us and cause harm. Ultimately they are placed there by Satan for the purpose of taking us off the path God would have us on. He went on to say, "He who guards his soul will be far from them". We should stay away from those things that would ensnare us and captivate us so that we do not live lives of obedience to God. We must train our children so that they are wise and look out for the spiritual dangers and traps this world will set for them.

Father, there are a lot of things in this world that look like fun. When we begin to engage in them, we soon find that they consume all of our thoughts and all of our time. We begin to build our life around them, and in the process, we do not glorify You. Help us as Your children to guard ourselves against these things. May the things we do, and the thoughts we think, bring glory to You.