"Kids, Let's Talk About LGBTQ"

When it's time to discuss this with your children, try using these five points.

This Is Who We Are

We're Christians. That means we believe in Jesus, and we follow Him, so we don't just do what we want, we do what He wants (Matt. 16:24). We ask ourselves, "What's His will?" and the answer we get from the Bible guides the way we live (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

This Is What He Planned

God decided what you'll be before He even created the world (Eph. 1:4)! He said, "That's gonna be a girl" (or "That's gonna be a boy") way before we knew what you'd be (Ps. 139:13-16). What you are is what He planned.

God made sex, too. That was His idea, and He Himself said it's good (Gen. 1:31). When a man and woman promise to build a life together, sex is a part of their bond, and the way they make kids like you. You're a gift, and the sex that made you is a gift parents share. That's why in our house, sex is never a dirty word. It's a sacred word (Heb. 13:4).

This Is Why It's Hard

Sometimes it's hard to be different, and what we believe about sex makes us different than a lot of your friends and their families (1 Pet. 4:4). Some of them will say, "Gay people can be parents, too," or "I can decide if I'm a boy or a girl." They may even say you're hateful if you don't agree. But the facts show that if we accept the sex God made us, and follow His plan for marriage and family, we'll live longer and happier. So if we believe He made us with a plan, then we've got to also believe He knows what works and what doesn't (Is. 29:16).

This Is What We Do

We know that just because God planned something, that doesn't mean we always want to follow His plan. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, didn't either, so all of us inherited their tendency to want things God never intended (Gen. 3:16-19). Our desires, including our sexual desires or the way we feel about ourselves, sometimes go toward things that seem right to us but won't do us any good (Gal. 5:17). Sometimes we want the wrong food, or the wrong person, or the wrong thing. When that happens, we don't need to be ashamed of having a feeling (1 Cor. 10:13), but we do need to talk about it (Jas. 5:16). We also need to resist it and pray for strength to stay with God's design because we know, in the long run, that works best for us.

This Is How We Stand

First, we try to be honest about our own struggles, whatever they are. We confess them, we seek God to help us stay faithful, and we let Him conform us to His will and transform us into His image (Rom. 12:1-2).

Second, we remain faithful to the truth even when it's unpopular (Luke 9:26). We show respect to everyone by listening to other people's stories, sharing our own, and showing our interest and our love (2 Tim. 2:24).

Third, we remember Who we belong to. We'd rather get along with everyone, and we usually can. But whenever we have to choose between saying what people want us to say, or being faithful to God by telling the truth, we take a clear, gentle stand by saying what Peter and John said: "We must obey God rather than human beings" (Acts 5:29, NIV).

Recommended resources

Mama Bear Apologetics: Guide to Sexuality, Hillary Morgan Ferrer
God's Design for Sex Series, Stan & Brenna Jones
How & When to Tell Your Kids About Sex, Stan & Brenna Jones
The Talk: 7 Lessons to Introduce Your Child to Biblical Sexuality, Luke Gilkerson