Bathroom Debate Least of Our Worries

Today, governments around the world are confronting significant challenges. Global conflict and instability have reached unprecedented levels, with over 120 armed conflicts currently raging — the highest number recorded since the Uppsala Conflict Data Program began tracking the data in 1946.

To put that in perspective, there were 59 conflicts documented just last year. This alarming rise has triggered widespread famine and food insecurity, intensifying the strain on global economies already grappling with instability and uncertainty.

And yet, in the face of these monumental challenges, what pressing issue is Congress forced to address? The so-called “transgendering of Congress.”

At a time when the world is teetering on the brink, Capitol Hill is consumed with deciding which bathrooms a new trans-identifying member of Congress will use.

In this instance, much like the modern-day Pharisees, the media sought to corner Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., hoping he’d come across as either cruel or compromising in his stand for truth. But he did neither.

This situation is reminiscent of a moment in the gospels, where the Pharisees attempted to trap Jesus on the contentious issue of divorce. “The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?’” (Matthew 19:13 NKJV).

Notice how Jesus responded: He didn’t get bogged down in legalistic arguments. Instead, He pointed them back to God’s original design. “And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female?’” (Matthew 19:14 NKJV).

Here, Jesus establishes the foundational truth — there are only two genders. He continues, “‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’” (Matthew 19:15 NKJV).

Two people of the same gender could never fulfill this divine design.

While debates over women’s sports and bathroom access are often framed as issues of safety and fairness — and those concerns are valid — we must recognize that these are symptoms of a much deeper problem.

The root of this crisis can be traced back to ideological shifts, starting with the feminist movement’s rejection of the complementarian roles of men and women. Neither gender is superior to the other — but they are distinct — and it is only together that individuals and societies can thrive.

This cultural shift, compounded by the normalization of promiscuity, eroded sexual norms, weakened the institution of marriage, and left children increasingly vulnerable to exploitation. Today’s gender crisis reflects both an identity crisis for some and a defense mechanism for others. Simply retrofitting bathrooms will not resolve this deeper issue.

Just as Jesus’s solution to divorce wasn’t about changing the law but rather transforming hearts, the same applies today. True resolution will not come from policies alone but from a transformation of hearts and minds.

Tony Perkins is president of Family Research Council. He previously chaired the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Tony is the host of a nationally syndicated program, "Washington Watch with Tony Perkins." He is a pastor, Marine veteran, and former police officer. Read more Tony Perkins reports — Here.