Should Teachers Use Preferred Gender Pronouns?

According to the Collins Dictionary, “A pronoun is a word that you use to refer to someone or something when you do not need to use a noun, often because the person or thing has been mentioned earlier. Examples are ‘it’, ‘she’, ‘something’, and ‘myself’.”1 This definition does not seem very controversial. Yet somehow, teachers around the US are facing severe consequences over the issue of when and when not to use pronouns. Of course, the pronouns that we are talking about are transgender pronouns.

Teachers should be thinking deeply about how we are going to address the gender battles that we will probably face in the coming months and years. Even if we are diligently and humbly serving our students, parents, and schools, the conflict over gender ideology seems to be one of the primary battles that our culture has chosen in its war against God. The battle is often fought in the arena of the hearts and minds of our children, and teachers are, usually not of our own choosing, on the front lines of this war of truth and lies. The enemy is bent on the destruction of our society and of people’s souls. Children are paying the price spiritually, mentally, and sometimes physically so that our society can experiment with untrue and sinful ideas.

When Christians use preferred gender pronouns that contradict biological truth, we make a mockery of both God and his creation.

On the general issue of transgender pronouns, as Christians we recognize that we must follow the Bible’s authority, looking for God to guide us through his Word. We see that God has clearly created two distinct biological sexes: male and female (Genesis 1:27). Christ reiterated this in Matthew 19:4 when he said, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” When Christians use preferred gender pronouns that contradict biological truth, we make a mockery of both God and his creation. Knowing this, we must not only humbly defend our beliefs, but we must also teach our children that God intentionally designed men and women differently to beautifully complement one another.

As teachers and parents, we see throughout Scripture the command to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6—see also Ephesians 6:4; Proverbs 13:24, 23:13–14, 29:15; Deuteronomy 11:19; Titus 2:3–6). The kids under our care in our classrooms desperately need to see and hear the truth. They are living amid a culture that is indeed preying specifically on them as the primary target. As Cory Von Eiff wrote,

Regardless of our children’s education system, we must be constantly on guard, protecting and guiding our children through the LGBTQI+ minefield of today’s world. As Christians, we need to remember that Satan’s goal is to seek and destroy, and the lack of communication between parents and children about these topics provides an opening for Satan to attack our families. Not discussing and providing biblically based answers to these topics, including preferred gender-pronoun usage, leaves both children and parents vulnerable to Satan’s attacks through the liberal culture around us.2

God has said that we are to be always teaching our children God’s laws. While this admonition in Deuteronomy 6:6–7 was specifically addressed to Israel, the principle also applies to Christians today as we train children in our homes and schools. We are seeking to raise up children who are confident in what they believe and will stand firmly before the world’s philosophies as shining lights for Christ.

What are some guiding principles in this process?

• Teachers cannot lie to kids. Teaching, by definition, is leading students into truth. God gave us our gender, and our pronouns and names reflect this truth of God’s creation. We cannot use the names and pronouns that people choose in rebellion to God’s law and created order.
• Loving your neighbor never includes a lie that is destructive to them. We need to share the truth and share it with love. Always try to work with school administration and parents to try to find a way to work inside the truth with compassion and consideration. Just realize that there may not be a place for compromise, and there may be a price to pay.
• Our goal should be to help our kids align who they think they are—their identity—with who God says they are and who he is making them to be. All of education should be helping kids become more like their Creator and Savior in the unique way that he has created each one of them.
• Use compassion. First ask questions and listen for answers. Most of the time, gender issues are a representation of deeper problems that kids are dealing with. Help them see who they are in Christ and help them find real help in him.
• The common argument that “using correct pronouns is a way to respect them and create an inclusive environment” is a lie. When this is done, every child in that classroom is now in danger of being influenced by this destructive ideology. Just because our society is struggling with the truth doesn’t mean that truth doesn’t exist.
• Sharing the gospel is always our goal, directly or indirectly. But when we mix gender ideology with the gospel, we make the Word of God subservient to our sin nature, personal experiences, and corrupt feelings. By using transgender pronouns, we deny the Bible’s inerrancy, trustworthiness, sufficiency, and usefulness for our times.

As teachers, we often want to just put our heads down and keep the peace because we love teaching our kids. But pronouns today are not just a replacement for nouns—they have become a replacement for the Word of God. They are an indicator of where our loyalty lies. Rosaria Butterfield asks, “What kind of peace are we keeping by using transgender pronouns? The peace that loves the law and gospel? Or the peace that negotiates our surrender to the idol of LGBTQ+?”3 Our students are watching closely.

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